Holy Family, Year A, 29.12.2013

Ecclesiasticus 3:3-7, 14-17/ Colossians 3:12-21/ Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

Two days before Christmas, on the 23rd December, there was a meeting between two prominent men.

One has the world’s spotlight on him, while the other has stepped away from the spotlight.

Pope Francis, Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” has something like over 10million followers on Twitter.

Some are of the opinion that Pope Francis is the most influential world leader in 2013.

For someone who became Pope on March 13 this year, the attention on him is quite phenomenal.

By and large, the attention is positive and hence we the Catholic Church should be proud of the Pope.

Well, on the 23rd December, Pope Francis paid a visit to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the monastery of Mater Ecclesiae.

As we will certainly remember, it was Benedict’s resignation from the papacy that opened the way for the eventual election of Pope Francis.

It was a meeting that did not generate much headlines or interest.

Pope Francis paid a visit to Benedict XVI to give his best wishes for Christmas in advance.

They chatted and Pope Francis even told Benedict that he was happy to see him looking well and good.

Finally, before leaving, the two men prayed together in the chapel.

It was a significant moment for them as one prepares to celebrate his first Christmas as the Pope, whereas the other will spend his first Christmas after resigning as a Pope.

Yet, many anxious moments have gone by before coming to this point in time.

When the Vatican announced the unexpected resignation of Benedict XVI on the 11th February, the Church was thrown into a bit of turmoil and confusion.

The reason given was his declining health due to old age. But he also said that he was resigning for the good of the Church.

At that time, we wouldn’t have understood what it meant. But by now we probably would have understood and maybe there will be more things to understand in time to come.

So, the Church as a community, and as a family, has seen anxious and disturbing moments, as well as calm and consoling moments. 

As it is with the Church, so it was with the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

And today’s gospel gives us a glimpse of the turmoil and distress that they experienced as a family.

They are not a “no-worries be-happy” family without anxieties and difficulties.

They were a real family, who faced real emergencies and life-threatening situations in their lives.

Immediately, after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph had to flee from their homeland to escape the death squads that were going after them.

Even though Jesus was the “Emmanuel”, the “God-is-with-us” the Holy Family was not spared of the trauma and the danger of the chaos of life.

Yet, for better or for worse, in good times or in bad, they stayed together.

Joseph did not abandon mother and child in the time of need. Mary did not abandon the child Jesus for her own safety.

Their staying together in the face of trials showed us this truth- that God is with us when we are united.

So it is with the Holy Family, and so it will be with our families, so it will be with the Church community.

Whether it is family or community, we need each other in order to become what God wants us to be.

There is this interesting story about porcupines. An extremely cold winter was coming and the porcupines had to find a way to survive.

At first they decided to group together to keep warm and protect one another.

But unfortunately, their sharp spiky quills poked at each other as their huddled together, so they dispersed.

Of course this left them exposed to the bitter cold and they started to freeze to the point of death.

So they had to make a fundamental life or death choice – either they stay apart and die, or they tolerate and accept each other’s thorns and survive.

And to think of it, we are a bit like porcupines.

We have our own “spiky quills” and with that we hurt others and others hurt us too.

At times, living as members of the family and community can be so painful and hurtful, that we think it might be better off living alone.

But if the porcupines know how to stay together in order to survive, then we must also learn to accept and live with the spiky quills of others.

The Church has suffered much from its own sharp quills. The Church has seen painful and hurtful times.

But under the leadership of Pope Francis, there is healing and restoration.

And the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has committed himself to praying for the Church as he spends his days in retirement.

We are seeing the fruits of his prayers in Pope Francis and in what God wants the Church to be.

And may their prayers and the prayers of Mary and Joseph also help our families to be what God wants us to be.

Christmas Day, Year A, 25.12.2013

Isaiah 62:1-5/ Acts 13:16-17, 22-25/ Luke 2:1-14

This Christmas is a special Christmas for someone, and it is none other than Pope Francis because he is celebrating his first Christmas as the Pope.

There are already a few “firsts” for him – he is the first non-European Pope (he is an Argentinean); and he is the first Pope to choose the name of “Francis” (of Assisi).

And talking about St. Francis of Assisi, he made a special contribution to the celebration of Christmas – he was the first to stage a Nativity scene.

Back in the year 1223, when St. Francis of Assisi went to a small village to celebrate Christmas, he wanted to highlight the Nativity scene.

So he found a shed and laid it with straw and he got an ox and a donkey and he got some of the villagers to play the different characters of the Nativity scene.

So there was Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus and some shepherds with their sheep and a couple of angels.

(It was something like the Nativity pageant put up by the children that we saw before the Mass.)

And they sang hymns and read the gospel about the birth of Christ and prayed.

Everyone at the Nativity scene was moved and they felt like as if they were there at that very first Christmas.

And hence from then on, the Nativity scene became the main feature of Christmas celebration.

But more than that, the enactment of the Nativity scene also brought about blessings for the people.

As the account goes, the straw that was laid in the shed, when it was fed to the cattle and sheep, cured them of a disease that was afflicting them.

It was also said that the wooden beams that supported the shed was used to build the church nearby and they were surprisingly durable.

But over and above all the blessings, the people had a change of heart.

They heard and they saw the joyful news of the birth of Christ their savior.

Differences and disputes were reconciled, wrongs were forgiven, kindness and generosity flowed among the people.

Indeed the birth of Christ is good and joyful news. It brings about bountiful blessings and graces.

Today, we are gathered together as the people of God to celebrate the birth of Christ.

The birth of Christ brings about abundant blessings for us.

When we look at the baby Jesus in the crib, we will see that His arms are open and extended.

It is meant to show that He welcomes and embraces us and He also wants to give us blessings in abundance.

And of course the greatest blessing is the gift of Himself.

Jesus took His place in a lowly manger so that we will have a place in heaven.

When we reflect on the Nativity scene, we can see what Jesus is all about.

The shed is a symbol of poverty – Jesus emptied Himself and came down from heaven to be with us.

The donkey is a symbol of humility; the ox is a symbol of sacrifice; the sheep is a symbol of gentleness and docility; the shepherds represent the poor and the lowly.

The symbols of the Nativity scene point to what Jesus is, and they also point to what we are called to be.

Today, we journey back to that first Christmas, to receive the blessings that Jesus wants to give us.

And today, we also journey forward to proclaim the joyful news that Christ is born and that God is with us.

May God be with Pope Francis as he leads the church forward. 

May God be with us as we work for reconciliation and forgiveness so that peace that Jesus came to bring will be a reality.

4th Sunday of Advent, Year A, 22.12.2013

Isaiah 7:10-14/ Romans 1:1-7/ Matthew 1:18-24

In a couple of days’ time, we will hear that beautiful Christmas carol “What child is this?”

In fact, we are already hearing it at shopping malls and supermarkets, along with the ringing of cash registers.

But just to make sure that we are talking about the same carol, the first few lines goes like this:

“What child is this, who laid to rest on Mary’s lap is sleeping? When angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping.”

That’s a beautiful Christmas carol and it captures the essence of the reason of the season – “This, this is Christ the King…”

Yes, everything is made so clearly to us now, so much so that we may take it for granted and may not feel the depth of the mystery of the birth of Christ.

But if Joseph, whom we heard in the gospel, had known about that Christmas carol during his time, he might have changed the title from “What Child is this” to “Whose Child is this”.

Joseph had his dreams and his hopes about his future. Mary was betrothed to him and he would have dreamed of a happy family and children of his own.

And then, this had to happen. He came to know that Mary was pregnant and obviously his first question was “Whose child is this?”
It was certainly not his child; not his, but whose?

To say that Joseph felt disappointment and cheated might be an under-statement.

And to his reaction was an obvious reaction. He decided to call off the marriage.

But being a man of honour, he decided to do it quietly and informally.

He was hurt, but he was man enough to contain it. He didn’t want anybody else to be hurt.

In that sense, he still cared about Mary and he wanted to spare her the publicity, which would be a devastating publicity against the unwed and pregnant Mary.

Yet, that did not answer the question “whose child is this?” Who is the father?

And then as if all the questions in his mind were not enough for him, he gets a dream about an angel telling him what to do next.

Joseph is one of the central characters in the whole Christmas story and yet he is the only one who had nothing recorded of what he said or what he thought.

But it certainly cannot be said that Joseph was a simpleton and simply did what he was told.

Joseph had to lay aside his broken dreams and his disappointments and to make that decision to accept the pregnant Mary and to take her home as his wife.

Therein lies the greatness of Joseph. He took the responsibility to care for Mary and her child.

Even though the angel told him in the dream that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, would that really answer the question “Whose child is this?”

Would he be able to comprehend that truth? Would we be able to comprehend that truth?

Who can believe that virginity and motherhood would go together? Because a virgin mother had no precedent whether in the religious realm, or in the secular realm.

So how to believe? And neither can we expect Joseph to believe so easily.

And if we were in Joseph’s shoes, what would we do?

Are we going to follow dreams and mystery, or do what Joseph originally intended – just spare the publicity and settle it quietly.

There is this story of a wise and holy man who lived at the outskirts of a village.

Everyone revered him for being upright and holy.

Then a beautiful girl in the village got pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was responsible.

At first she was reluctant to reveal, but under pressure, the anxious and embarrassed girl pointed to that wise and holy man.

The parents and the village elders went to confront the holy man and accused him of being a cheater and a fake.

To their accusations, his reply was simply: Is that so?

When the child was born, the parents took the child to that holy man and demanded that he take responsibility for the child, since he was the father.

His reply was: Is that so? But he took the child in, and for many months, he took good care of the child. 

But the girl who could no longer take it, finally confessed that the real father was a young man of the village whom she wanted to protect.

The parents and the village elders immediately went to that holy man, they apologized profusely to him and proclaimed his innocence and their respect for him; his only reply was: Is that so?

A reply like “Is that so?” can mean anything from being stoic to enigmatic. Or it may mean we don’t know and we also don’t care.

But for Joseph, he did not know clearly whose child it is that Mary was carrying.

But in the end, he took responsibility for Mary and her child and with that the Christmas Story turned from mystery to reality.

Life had many twists and turns. We may not ask questions like “Whose child is this?”

But our questions would be “Whose job is this?” or “Whose mistake is this?” or “Whose fault is this?”

Joseph also had his questions, but in the end, he took upon himself the responsibility of caring for Mary and Jesus, and Christmas became a reality.

In life, when people don’t do their job, or when a mistake is made and people start blaming each other, it is the poor, the vulnerable and the helpless who will have to suffer the consequences.

But like Joseph, when we take the responsibility upon ourselves, then we can make Christmas a reality.

And we will truly know what Child it is that we are celebrating at Christmas.

3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A, 15.12.2013

Isaiah 35:1-6, 10/ James 5:7-10/ Matthew 11:2-11

There used to be a complaint that they don’t make things like they used to.

It seems that in the past things are made to last a life-time, and maybe even longer than a life-time.

From machines to tools to toys, the things of the past were made of heavy durable material.

One example is the old “Singer” sewing machine from our mothers’ or grandmothers’ time.

Amazingly they still work, and no electricity is needed, but you would need the skill of hand and foot coordination.

But with the rise of industrialization and mass production, and with cheaper and less durable materials, things are made to just hold together till they have left the factory (or when the warranty expires).

And when they land into our hands and after a whole they malfunction and spoil and we bring it back to the shop or the agent, they will tell you that buying a new one would make more economical sense than repairing it (right?).

And so a culture is created, and it is called the “throw-away” culture.

So, when the TV is spoilt, just throw it away, the hi-fi set is spoilt, just throw it away, the computer is spoilt, just throw it away.

After all, with the abundance of cheap goods, why bother to repair something old when you can get something new and get it cheaply.

So, we have this “throw-away” culture. Oh, by the way, the statistics for 2012 states that a Singaporean throws away about 1400 kg of waste a year, and Singapore generates 7.3million tons of waste for 2012.

That’s a lot of waste and it seems that we love to throw away things.

But it may not just be spoilt things that we throw away.

The “throw-away” mentality may have also crept into the way we treat people.

If a person is not of any use to us, we may just “throw” that person out of our lives.

Because just as we use things, we may also “use” people. And when things are of no more use to us, we will also just “throw” them away.

Today’s gospel began with John the Baptist in prison. 

Just last week, we heard of how he appeared in the wilderness and crowds came to him and they confessed their sins and were baptized by him.

His words were sharp, like an axe that was ready to cut down any tree that does not bear good fruit.

He spoke of the one who is to come, the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

And the one who is to come has a winnowing fan in his hand to clear the threshing floor and gather the wheat, but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.

So John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as a fiery judge, a dispenser of wrath and no chance will be given to those who do not repent. But what he said Jesus would do somehow did not match with what Jesus actually did.

Instead of condemnation, Jesus showed compassion; instead of axing and chopping the sinners, Jesus was sitting and chatting with them.

In the darkness of his dungeon, John the Baptist would have felt that he was like something thrown away and of no use anymore.

And when he heard what Jesus was doing, he would be having a broken feeling. He was to prepare the way for the one to come. But could he have been wrong?

Hence, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the one to come.
The reply Jesus gave was not a “Yes” or “No”. Rather He told the disciples to tell John the Baptist what they heard and saw.

The “thrown away” and “broken” John the Baptist is presented to us on this 3rd Sunday of Advent to point out an important aspect.
Jesus healed the sick: the blind see again, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear.

But the one most in need of healing then was John the Baptist as he laid broken in his dungeon.

Anything that is broken is usually considered useless and thrown away.

If such was the case with John the Baptist, then it would be a sad ending. And that is not Good News. That is more like sad news.

In this modern age, a ceramic bowl that is broken is usually thrown away. It doesn’t make any sense to try to join the broken pieces back together.

There is this Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquered resin mixed with powdered gold. It is called kintsugi.

Kintsugi may have originated in the 15th century when a Japanese shogun sent a broken Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs.

When it was returned repaired with ugly metal staples, it prompted Japanese craftsmen to look for a more aesthetic means of repair.

With kintsugi, broken valuable pottery was repaired and rejoined and the cracked veins now have beautiful gold finishing.

Kintsugi means “to repair with gold”. But the important point in the art of kintsugi is that the broken piece is now more beautiful for having been broken.

John the Baptist in his awful dungeon may have been broken and disappointed.

But the news that his disciples brought back to him from Jesus was like the gold lacquer that rejoined his broken heart and made it more beautiful than before.

That is why we now call him St. John the Baptist.

As for us, the struggles and the tumbles of life have caused cracks and breaks in our hearts.

Where others would write us off and throw us away, Jesus wants to save us.

Jesus is the Divine Healer and as the Divine Craftsman, He heals our broken hearts with His golden love so that we become more beautiful for having been broken.

It does sound strange, “we become more beautiful for having been broken”, but that is the Good News.

And when we do not lose faith in Jesus, that is really Good News.
Because we know we won’t be thrown away.

Jesus is there to lead us and save us.

2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A, 08.12.2013

Isaiah 11:1-10/ Romans 15:4-9/ Matthew 3:1-12

By this time of the month, which in Church terms is the second Sunday of Advent, most of us would already have gotten one thing done.

We would have already taken out the Christmas tree from the store room and started decorating it.

By and large, setting up the Christmas tree seems like no big deal. We can choose whether it is a 4ft or 5ft or 6ft tree or taller even.

And we can also choose what types or species of Christmas tree, whether fir or pine, and even what colour. After all they are artificial and can come in whatever shape and colour.

But buying a Christmas tree is not as simple or easy as it sounds.

Just the other day while I was looking around for Christmas decorations, I overheard a lady asking the salesperson for a particular kind of Christmas tree with a particular kind of fiber optic lights on its branches.

The salesperson said: Oh that one. No stock now. Come back in a week’s time.

The lady was exasperated: A week’s time?!?! I took leave just to come here to get that tree and then you say no stock. And Christmas is coming. So how???!!!.

So how? Just to put up the Christmas tree and the decorations can be like a really good Advent spiritual preparation.

Because we will have to learn how to handle the frustrations and disappointments of the season.

Like … cannot find the right Christmas tree, so how?!?! The lights cannot work, so how?!?! Cannot find the right present, so how?

So how to have a merry Christmas when we cannot get what we want, when we cannot get things to work, and when we can find what we need?

Yet when we look at the commercials and advertisements, everything seems so perfect: the perfect Christmas tree, the perfect decorations, the perfect gift.

So we dream, not so much as a white Christmas, but a perfect Christmas. But can we ever have a perfect Christmas?

Today we have someone telling us how to have a perfect Christmas. And crowds went to him to hear how it is possible.

Today, John the Baptist appears in the gospel and the people from Jerusalem and all of Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him.

His message for a perfect Christmas is simple, and can be summarized into one word: Repent!

And his message also comes with an axe, and with that John the Baptist goes for our precious nicely decorated Christmas trees.

But why would he want to do that? Let’s listen again to what he said:
Even now the axe is laid to the roots of the trees, so that any tree which fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Of course he is not referring to Christmas trees in particular, but nonetheless the Christmas tree has a biblical and religious significance.

The Christmas tree is a symbol of Jesus. He is the shoot that springs from the stock of Jesse, the scion that trusts from Jesse’s roots, as we heard in the 1st reading.

Jesse was the father of king David, whose reign brought about the golden age of Israel.

But after his reign, Israel declined and the kingdom was split and was overrun by her enemies over and over again.

Eventually when Israel was exiled into Babylon, king David’s line of descendants became an obscurity.

But the prophet Isaiah wrote of hope, that one day a shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse and bring about Israel’s glory.

Jesus was that shoot that sprang into a tree, a life-giving tree, a hope-giving tree, a tree that bore fruits of love.

And that is why the Christmas tree is an appropriate symbol for the season, provided we know what it stands for.

That is why we decorate our Christmas tree with meaningful symbols like the star, the lights, the little angels and those other ornaments that symbolize what Jesus is about and what He came to give us.

Hence our lives must also be like the beautifully decorated Christmas tree. Otherwise it has no connection to our faith.

In other words, our lives must bear good fruits, not just to show our repentance, but also to bear fruits of love for others.

Repentance is a beautiful spiritual experience when we see God’s self-sacrificing love in the beautiful mystery of the Incarnation at Christmas.

We may have heard of the story of the “Giving tree”. The story reflects the self-giving love of God at Christmas. The story:

Once there was a tree and she loved little boy. And every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. 

He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. 

And the boy loved the tree very much.. And the tree was happy. 
But time went by, and the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone. Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said: 
"Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be "happy" 
"I am too big to climb and play" said the boy. "I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money. Can you give me some money?" 

"I'm sorry" said the tree, "but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in city. Then you will have money and you'll be happy." 

And so the boy climb up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away. And the tree was happy... 

But the boy stayed away for a long time and the tree was sad. 
And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with joy, and she said: "Come, Boy come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be "happy".. 

"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy. "I want a house to keep me warm," he said. "I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house?" 

"I have no house" said the tree. “The forest is my house, but you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy" 

And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build a house. And the tree was happy. 

But the boy stayed away for a long time and the tree was sad. And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak. "Come, Boy" she whispered, "Come and play" 

"I am too old and sad to play. "said the boy. "I want a boat that will take me away from here. Can you give me a boat ?" 

"Cut down my trunk and make a boat," said the tree. "Then you can sail away and be happy." 
And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. 

And the tree was happy But not really…
And after a long time the boy came back again. 
"I am sorry, Boy, "said the tree, "but I have nothing left to give you — My apples are gone." 
"My teeth are too weak for apple, "said the boy. 
"My branches are gone," said the tree. "You cannot swing on them — " 
"I am too old to swing on branches" said the boy. 
"My trunk is gone," said the tree. "You cannot climb — " 
"I am too tired to climb," said the boy. 
"I am sorry" sighed the tree. "I wish that I could give you something. . . but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry..." 
"I don't need very much now" said the boy. "just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired" 
"Well" said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down... and rest." 
And the tree was happy …  (by Shel Silverstein)







God so loved the world that at Christmas, He gave us His only Son Jesus. 

On Good Friday, Jesus allowed Himself to be chopped down and reduced to a stump in order to save us.

But out of this stump, Jesus rose, and He want us to rise with Him.
Yes, to rise with repentance from our sins so as to bear good fruits, fruits of love that will bring about peace and joy.

So may our Christmas tress symbolize who Jesus is for us.
And may it also symbolize what we want to be for others.

1st Sunday of Advent, Year A, 1.12.2013

Isaiah 2: 1-5/ Romans 13:11-14/ Matthew 24:37-44

Today is the first day of December. The month of December gives rise to a few pleasant thoughts that might bring a smile to our lips.

December means that Christmas is coming and we can start writing our wish-list, but it will probably just remain as wishes.

One of our wishes may be to go for a holiday overseas.

And that would mean that we take a flight out of Singapore for a holiday break.

Taking a flight out of Singapore for a holiday is convenient, and also we want to get as far away as possible so that our boss can’t reach us or make us go back to work.

But whether for a get-away holiday or for work, taking a plane is no big deal.

And we know what usually happens when we board the plane. 

Before the plane takes off, the flight attendants will go through the safety instructions for us.

And that is one of the most challenging moments for the flight attendant.

As she goes through the instructions and demonstrations, like how to fasten the seat-belt, where to put the hand-carry luggage, how to wear the life-vest, etc., the only passengers who are paying any attention are probably those who are taking a plane for the first time in their life.

The rest will be sending out last-minute messages and emails (especially if you forgot to apply for leave), or flipping through a magazine, or talking away with someone, or just looking out of the window and dreaming away.

After all, nothing has ever happened, and it is unlikely that anything will ever happen … hopefully.

But let’s say, the plane has taken off and cruising along high in the sky, and then suddenly there is jerk, and the lights flicker and some strange noises are heard.

The seat-belt lights come on, and then the flight attendants appear with a serious look on their faces.

And then they start to go through the safely procedures again, telling us to sit straight and buckle-up and telling us where the life-jackets are and where the exits are, etc.

Now, would we be paying any attention, or would we continue to read our magazine, or keep chatting with our neighbor, or continue sleeping, or getting flustered that our in-flight movie is suddenly stopped?

Would we be suspecting anything, or would we think that it is a bad joke and no one is laughing?

In the gospel, Jesus recalled a story for the Old Testament that even children would know about – it was about Noah and the ark.

We know that Noah brought a pair of all the animals into the ark, before it started to rain for 40 days and 40 nights.

Yet Jesus said that when Noah was building the ark, the people suspected nothing.

They saw Noah and the ark as a big joke, and probably they were laughing at it, and they continued eating and drinking, taking wives, taking husbands.

They suspected nothing. Until it started raining, and raining, and raining, for 40 days and 40 nights it rained.

And then the people would have realized the reason for the ark. But it was too late. All because they suspected nothing. They sensed nothing. So in the end no one was left laughing.

So to say that God does not give warning signs is certainly not a fair statement to make.

Even though Jesus said that the Son of Man is coming at an hour we do not expect, it is to get us to be alert and ready always.

God will always give us signs; we only need to sense it and act on it.

The month of December may be a happy month for some, but certainly a busy month for many others.

There are accounts to be closed and the tedious stock-taking at the work place to prepare for next year.

And then at home, it is time to bring out the Christmas decorations and the yearly headache of shopping for presents and preparing for parties.

It seems to be more busy than happy, more stressful than joyful.
So we huff and puff, we push and rush to meet the deadline which is December 25.

It is strange to think that how December 25, which is Christmas Day, has become like some kind of deadline to meet.

But going back to that point in the gospel – do we suspect anything happening? Do we sense anything happening?

Advent is a preparation to celebrate that moment in time when God became man, i.e. the birthday of Jesus.

So all that we are doing is for the birthday celebration of Jesus. And who would not come for his own birthday celebration?

Oh yes, Jesus will come, He promised to come, and the imagery He used is that of like a thief in the night (although that is not a very comfortable imagery).

So Jesus will come in the midst of our preparations, our busyness, in our stress, in our anxiety. And He comes quietly and silently.

But we have to sense His presence. And to help us do that, the Church is offering us this Advent reflection booklet with the theme “Sensing Christ”.

It reminds us that Jesus is present in what we see, hear and touch.

And most of all Jesus is present in the persons around us.

So let us not take anyone for granted, as they are God’s gifts to us.

And let us also not take anything we see, hear or touch for granted, because that is how God is communicating with us.

Yes, Jesus is already present in those persons and things that we take for granted so often.

We only need to open our senses, and we will be able to see, hear and touch His presence.

Christ the King, Year C, 24.11.13

2 Samuel 5:1-3/ Colossians 1:12-20/ Luke 23:35-43

One of the most anxious days of last week was probably last Friday, the 22nd of November.

In the midst of other top news like the massive relief efforts that are going on in the Philippines in the aftermath of the Typhoon Haiyan, last Friday had a particular top news in Singapore.

And that top news was the release of the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examinations) results. It was an anxious day for students, parents and also for the teachers.

PSLE results, like the other crucial exam results, is a big thing in Singapore.

The PSLE results would determine which secondary school a student would be going to and probably the direction in life that the student would be heading towards.

And as the usual cycle goes for those who had done well there will be cheers.

But for those who did not do well, there could be tears and fears.
Of course, the limelight will be on those who scored “As” and “A-stars”.

They have done themselves proud, their parents proud, their schools proud.

They will be asked to share the secrets of their success, and maybe how they had gone against the odds to emerge the top. 

We congratulate those students who had studied hard and done well, and we must affirm them for their diligence and toil. Indeed, they sweat for their success.

Yet, the PSLE results day is also like Judgment Day for some, and we don’t get to hear about them.

They are the ones who didn’t do well enough (comparatively) and maybe, at the bottom of the heap, are those who failed and, face the prospect of having to repeat the PSLE.

I can’t help feeling sorry for them, that at such a tender age of 12 years old, they already had the sour taste of disappointment and the bitter taste of failure.

We won’t get to see them or hear about them, and they also don’t want to be seen or heard.

Yes, the failures of the education system and the failures of society are not for public viewing and it would be better that they are not mentioned at all.

But in the gospel, three people are put up as failures for public viewing. They were actually put up for execution.

Two of them were criminals, and certainly their crimes were serious enough to warrant the death penalty of crucifixion.

Their lives had been a big failure. Their failure turned them into a life of crime and now they are paying for their failure on the cross.

It is said that failure is the mother of success, in that failure can spur a person to reverse the failure and make it a stepping stone for success.

But for the two criminals nailed to the cross and waiting for their final breath, there is no more chance of reversal. Their failure in life had led them to a dead end. 

Between these two criminals was Jesus, also nailed to the cross and waiting for the final moment.

But why was Jesus crucified between the two criminals? He preached the Good News of the kingdom of God, healed the sick and worked miracles. He didn’t commit any crime!

However, He was rejected by the chief priests and elders and they conspired against Him and finally had Him nailed to the cross.

Though He had done nothing wrong, as one of the criminals would testify, His ending seemed to be one sad broken failure.

The inscription on His cross read: This is the King of the Jews. But was meant to mock Him and deride Him.

It’s one thing to be a failure, but quite another to have to die for having done nothing wrong and to be made fun of in that slow painful death. 

His friends stayed at a distance, watching His execution, probably thinking silently: He had been our hope, but now …

The leaders jeered at Him and taunted Him: He saved others, let Him now save Himself.

The soldiers mocked Him: If you are the King, save yourself.

Even one of the criminals abused Him: If you are the Christ, save yourself and save us.

But, in the midst of all this jeering and taunting and mockery, only one person saw the reality.

The other criminal, often called the good thief, who defended the innocence of Jesus made this remarkable statement: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

But was an absurd statement, because Jesus, like him was in a hopeless situation.

Yet, somehow, the good thief and only the good thief, saw the truth and the reality: That Jesus was King and that He was the Savior.

So, despite the massive failure of his life, the good thief passed the final exam when Jesus told him: Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.

It was a totally absurd conversation to the people who were there, but one condemned sinner received salvation from the King who is the Saviour.

We may know the story of the lion and the mouse but nonetheless we can hear it again with a slightly different perspective.

The lion, the king of the jungle, just had his meal and was dozing off.

Then a mouse came along, the smallest creature in the jungle, a scavenger, considered the scum of the jungle.

The mouse crept up to the lion’s half-eaten meal and hoped to have a bite of the remains.

The lion woke up and with his powerful paw caught the mouse and he roared: How dare you steal my food!

The mouse pleaded: Please let me go, please let me go, and I promise to help you whenever you need me.

The lion was amused that a tiny mouse can ever help him, so he let the mouse go.

Then one day the lion fell into a net trap laid by hunters. He couldn’t free himself from the net and he roared and roared in distress.

The mouse heard the lion’s roar of distress and ran over. With its sharp tiny teeth, it nibbled at the ropes of the net until the lion was able to break free.

The lion turned to the mouse and said: Small as you are, you were able to help me, the King of the jungle.

From then on, the mighty lion shared his meals with the tiny mouse.

On the cross, Jesus was King and Saviour, but the people saw Him as a hopeless failure.

Only the good thief, despite all his failures, saw Jesus as who He really is.

So, if we had experienced sour disappointments and bitter failures in life and we feel like a tiny mouse scuttling around for survival, then Jesus has a mission for us.

Like the mouse who nibbled at the net to set the mighty lion free, we need to nibble at the tears and fears of our disappointments and failures so that we can be free to proclaim Jesus as our King and Saviour.

Whatever difficult situations we face in life, there is only one answer, and the good thief has given us that saving answer: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

That answer proclaims Jesus as our King and Saviour.

33rd Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 17.11.2013

Malachi 3:19-20/ 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12/ Luke 21:5-19

Recently a company announced plans to launch its website in Singapore in 2014.

Its website membership has over 21 million members from over 30 countries (that’s quite impressive).

Essentially, it is an online dating service and a social networking service, but that is not all.

It is marketed, and targeted, to people who are already in a relationship; or putting it plainly, people who are already married.

There is no need to guess what it is all about, especially when the company’s slogan is this: Life is short. Have an affair.

However, the authorities have announced that it will not allow the company to operate in Singapore as it promotes adultery and disregards family values.

Hence, the company’s website is also blocked from any access.

Thanks be to God that the website was not allowed to infiltrate into our country and so we are safe, at least for now.

But its waves have already flooded our minds and drowned our innocence of thought.

Because its slogan has made our minds wander around a bit.

“Life is short. Have an affair!” And who doesn’t know that life is short?! If you ever live to be a 100, you can be sure that there will not much competition and there will be no peer pressure.

But because life is so short, there will be temptation to give in to peer pleasure.

Peer pleasure as in we see our friends having fun with life and enjoying the pleasures of life as it there is no tomorrow.

And why not! Even Jesus said in the gospel that not one stone will be left on another. Everything will be destroyed!

There will be wars and revolutions, great earthquakes and plagues and famines.

We have seen all that happen in our time. And Jesus continues by saying that all that must happen, but the end is not so soon.

And we may think: You mean there is more to come? You mean the worse is not over yet?

If that is the case, then indeed, life is short, so why care?

As that slogan says: Life is short. Have an affair. 

And the ridiculous litany can continue. Life is short, so just don’t care! Pollute the air! Go ahead and swear! Do what others don’t dare! No need to be fair or square! Cheat and be a millionaire! 

These may sound ridiculous but the tragedies of life can turn the mind into madness.

In the gospel, Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the famous temple and that happened in 70AD.

During the long siege, about a million people were killed or died of starvation.

Besides the carnage that was carried out when the city was conquered, the survivors were forced to look at the Temple being demolished and reduced to rubble.

A disaster and destruction of such a magnitude was enough to make the survivors go mad.

And as in some cases that we heard of, a person’s hair can turn white overnight.

In the gospel, Jesus painted for us a worst case scenario of disaster, destruction, persecution and betrayal.

It may not make our hair turn white overnight but it will make our hair stand.

Yet, in this worst case scenario, Jesus is also telling us to look at it with the eyes of faith.

Yes, faith will enable us to look at this terrible scenario and see it as an opportunity to bear witness.

As we know, the Philippines has suffered a tragedy and a catastrophe.

First there was a great earthquake resulting in the loss of lives, destruction of homes and churches that are centuries old.

Then came a super typhoon that caused more loss of lives and more destruction and disaster.

Yet, it is in this face of tragedy that we are presented with an opportunity.

It is an opportunity to bear witness to our faith in the sense that tragedy must not have the last say.

God will have the final say but He needs our faith to bear witness to that.

With faith in God we must support our brothers and sisters in the Philippines.

Besides material help, we must also give them spiritual help so that those who are suffering from the tragedy will not lose their minds and lose their faith.

Tragedies like these make us realize that life is short.

But just because life is short we must not and cannot subscribe to that slogan: Life is short. Have an affair.

Rather with faith, we will say: Life is short. Handle with prayer.
With faith in God and with enduring prayer, worst case scenarios will turn into blessed-case scenarios.

32nd Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 10.11.2013

2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14/ 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5/ Luke 20:27-38

Last week, there were two occasions which made us turn our attention to the dimension of the spiritual world.

First, there was All Saints Day, a day in which we ponder about the great company of saints in heaven.

The saints are in the spiritual dimension of the presence of God, a dimension that is beyond the here and now.

Yet, it is also a dimension that we are in touch with, and what we could term as “the communion of saints”.

And then on the next day, which is All Souls Day, we remember those who have gone before us and we offer prayers for them that God will grant them eternal rest.

So, whether it’s All Saints and All Souls, it is a spiritual dimension that calls for our attention and evokes our emotions.

But just the day prior to All Saints and All Souls, there is this peculiar event called Halloween.

Halloween is of western origins. Halloween actually means “Hallowed Evening” which means holy evening.

Because it is on the 31st Oct, which is the eve of All Saints Day, the Church termed it as a holy evening and a vigil for the celebration of All Saints Day.

But it was actually to counter a pagan festival of a Celtic religion called “Druid”.

In that “Druid” religion, it was believed that on that day, the 31st Oct, the spirits of all those who died during the year would rise up and roam around. 

The Church tried to counter that by naming that day Halloween and propagated the teaching that the souls of the virtuous will rise to heaven and rejoice in heaven in the celebration of All Saints Day.

However, that didn’t quite succeed. The idea of a holy evening didn’t change the people’s fantasy of the scary and ghostly. (Sigh, just like how a talk on ghosts will always attract more people than a talk on saints!)

Hence, even nowadays, the general theme of the Halloween party is to dress up like the figures of the underworld.

So adults and even children will dress up as zombies, vampires, witches, warlocks, corpse, etc.

By and large, it is to be scary and ghostly, and all that is supposed to be for fun.

Yet, we may wonder where is the distinction between what is for fun and what is for real.

Is it real fun, or is that having fun with the real?

What we heard in the first reading was for real.

The seven brothers and their mother stood firmly in their faith against the temptations to deny God.

And with that, the persecution and torture began. One by one, the seven brothers were tortured and killed. They were skinned alive, dismembered and subjected to other grisly forms of torture.

And the mother who saw all her seven sons perish in one day was finally put to death.

Indeed it was a heart wrenching story of martyrdom and we cringe at the thought of how human beings can be so viciously tortured and executed just because of their faith in God.

In the Gospel, we heard about the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the resurrection, posing a seemingly ridiculous and absurd scenario to Jesus.

The Sadducees would have known about the story of the martyrdom of the seven brothers and their mother.

However, they twisted that story around and made up a case of seven brothers and a woman and threw in a law from Moses about marriage and having children.

Their question was this: In the after-life, whose wife would she be, since all seven brothers had married her?

They were not asking that question for fun. But their question was funny or at least, it sounded funny.

But that is because they didn’t believe in the resurrection and hence to them, the after-life was some kind of shadowy, meaningless existence in a place called Sheol.

And because the after-life seemed so absurd and meaningless, then their aim was to enjoy a life of luxury and have their desires fulfilled.

That was why the Sadducees were rich and they hold high positions, because this life was all they had. Beyond the grave is a meaningless existence.

And here is where Jesus gave a teaching on the after-life and on the resurrection.

Beyond the grave is not a meaningless existence.

Rather, beyond the grave, we rise to be with the God of the living, the God who is life and who gives life.

If we believe in that, then it must have an impact in the present life, in the here and now.

We just can’t go around and dressing up and acting like zombies and vampires or get fascinated with the scary or ghostly.

That would be a mockery of the after-life, and an insult to the God of life.

If we truly believe in the Resurrection, then we would want to live a life of holiness.

We would want to be in communion with the saints in heaven by asking them for their intercession.

We would also want to be in communion with those who have gone before us, by praying for them so that they can be with God and have the fullness of life.

Halloween may have come and gone, and some might see it as a funny costume party that has no meaning.

But we know what it means – it means “Holy Evening”.

And if we truly believe in the Resurrection, we also want it to have in our lives, a holy meaning.

Then we would truly witness to God, who is God not of the dead, but of the living.

31st Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 04.11.2013

Wisdom 11:22-12:2/ 2 Thess 1:11-2:2/ Luke 19:1-10

The Bible has many interesting and amazing stories that fascinate our imagination and capture our attention.

One of those stories is about the city of Jericho in the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament.

After crossing the River Jordan into the Promised Land, the Israelites faced the fortified city of Jericho.

The walls of Jericho were fortified, not just to keep out the enemies but also to hold out the water when the River Jordan gets flooded.

So it seemed unlikely for the Israelites to easily break through the walls of Jericho and conquer it.

And this was where God instructed Joshua of an amazing battle plan.

Joshua was to lead the priests carrying the ark of covenant, together with the soldiers and they were to march round the city once, with the priests blaring the horns. 

They were to do that for six days.

Then on the seventh day, they were to march round the city seven times and sounding their horns.

Then at the seventh round, as the priests were blowing the horns, Joshua was to instruct the Israelites to give a loud shout, and the walls of Jericho would collapse and the Lord will deliver the city to Joshua and the Israelites.

Joshua must have wondered at first about that weird battle plan.

Instead of using battering rams to break the walls and special troops to scale the walls, the Israelite warriors would seem like some kind of joke to the defenders of Jericho.

But on the seventh day and on the seventh round, with horns blowing and with a loud shout, the walls of Jericho collapsed and the Israelites conquered the city, and they had the last laugh.

That was certainly an unusual military strategy. But when the Lord fights for His people, it would always be in an unusual way, and amazing as well.

In the gospel, we heard that Jesus entered the city of Jericho, the same city that Joshua conquered many centuries ago.

There was nothing unusual about Jesus going to the city.

He was not going there to conquer the city and neither was He going to shout and make the walls collapse.

He was just an ordinary visitor, but He had an unusual observer.

A senior tax collector and a wealthy man by the name of Zacchaeus was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was. 

Maybe Zacchaeus had heard that one of the tax collectors had become His disciple, and that this Jesus mixes around with the outcasts and the despised.

So maybe Zacchaeus was just curious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he had no intention of getting to know him.

So anxious and curious was he that he climbed a sycamore tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus.

He thought that no one would notice him. He had thought that after getting a glimpse of Jesus, he would climb down the tree and go home and life would go on as usual.

Did Zacchaeus ever expected Jesus to look up and noticed him? 

Did he ever expected Jesus to call out to him and even want to go to his home?

By the way, the name “Zacchaeus” means pure, and it also means clean.

When Jesus called him by name, Zacchaeus might have suddenly realized what his name meant.

Zacchaeus was a wealthy senior tax collector which means that his reputation and his wealth were quite questionable.

But just like the walls of Jericho which had crumbled and collapsed many centuries before, the walls of the heart of Zacchaeus also crumbled and collapsed at the call of Jesus.

Zacchaeus let Jesus into his heart to clean it and make it pure again.

Today, as we come for Mass, Jesus is also telling us that He want to go and stay in our homes.

But we have to let Him into our hearts to clean it and make it pure again.

And like Zacchaeus, we have to do some letting go.

A man was sharing with his wife about his idea of living and dying.

He said to her: Never let me live in a vegetative state, totally dependent on medicines and liquid from a bottle.

If you see me in that state, I want you to disconnect all the contraptions that are keeping me alive. I would rather die.

The wife looked admiringly at him and said: Ok, I’ll do it.

And then she got up and went to disconnect the TV, the cable, the computer, the laptop, the handphone, the X-box, the playstation. 

And then she went to the fridge and threw away all the beer.
As for the man… well, he nearly died. (Ask for it and you will get it)

Jesus came to seek out and to save what was lost, but we also must give up what is making us unclean and impure.

How the walls of Jericho crumbled and collapsed was amazing. 

How Zacchaeus let Jesus change his life was also amazing.

Let us not go off from here without inviting Jesus to go back with us. 

With Jesus, many amazing things are waiting to happen. Only if we invite Him into our hearts.

30th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 27-10-2013

Sir 35:12-14, 16-19 / 2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18 / Lk  18:9-14

The month of October can be said to be a prayerful month.

And when we think about it, we can see that the month of October is indeed dotted with prayerful moments.

Well, the month of October began with the feast of our patron saint, St. Therese.

And then there was the feast of the Holy Rosary, and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

Tomorrow is also the feast of a saint that all of us have prayed to before - St Jude, patron saint of desperate cases.

And talking about desperate cases, as much as October is a prayerful month, it is also a stressful month, especially for students and also for the teachers, and also for the parents.

Yes, October is exam month and so it is a stressful month, but also a prayerful month, especially for the students.

It is said that last minute preparations for exams also produces the greatest motivation to pray.

And what do most students pray for? Certainly for good results.

And good results does not mean to just pass the exams.

(For some students and some parents) Good results does not mean just a D, or a C, or even a B.

Good results means scoring an A, and nothing less.

When asked why scoring A is so important for exams, one student candidly replied: Oh, because we are A-sians! :P

In the gospel, Jesus told a parable about two persons: a Pharisee and a tax-collector.

The Pharisee was like an “A” student: he is not grasping, not unjust, not adulterous.

He fast twice a week, he pays tithes, and of course, he prays.

The tax-collector was like an “F” student: he had got nothing to say but only this: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

He was like a student with a report card full of red marks and with the head hanging down could only shamefully say: I am sorry that I failed.

As the saying goes, we reap what we sow. So if we study hard, we will get good grades, maybe even a string of As.

If we are lazy and don’t study hard, and play play play, and then, at the last minute, we pray pray pray very hard, even St. Jude may find it difficult to help a desperate case. It is more like a hopeless case.

The Pharisee was certainly impressive with what he did, and it is understandable if he bragged about what he did, just like the students who would say how they toiled and sweat with their studies in order to get good grades.

His only problem, and which was his biggest problem was that he started to compare himself with the tax-collector and subsequently he put down the tax-collector.

The Pharisee had already exalted himself but to exalt himself further, he went on to ridicule the tax-collector by saying: and particularly, I am not like this tax-collector here.

And Jesus said it plainly, God will not accept that. 

How can one be called religious when one starts to compare himself with another and subsequently condemns the other?

As the 1st reading puts it: The Lord shows no respect of personages to the detriment of a poor man, and He listens to the plea of the injured party.

Moreover, the 1st reading states that the humble man’s prayer pierces the clouds, and the Lord will not be slow to answer him.

Yes, the Lord will hear and answer the prayers of the humble and lowly who only have Him for their help.

I came across a story taken from a magazine called Guideposts.

There was a young school teacher who really wanted to be a good teacher to her students. But a student named Billy, who was like an “A” student and a smart alec, was causing havoc in her class so much so that she was becoming a nervous wreck.

One morning before class began, the schoolteacher was at her desk writing something in shorthand. Suddenly, Billy appeared and he asked her: What are you writing?   

She said: I am writing a prayer to God in shorthand. Billy laughed and said: Can God read shorthand? The teacher said: He can do anything, even answer this prayer.   

Then she tucked that slip of paper into her prayer book and turned to write something on the board. As she did so, Billy, being Billy, took the prayer slip from her prayer book and slipped it into his text book.   

Twenty years later, Billy was going through a box of his belongings.

He came across his old text book. As he began to thumb through it, that prayer slip fell out. Billy stared at the writing on that faded piece of paper.   

When he got to his office, he gave that piece of paper to his secretary to decipher.   

As she looked at it, she blushed and told Billy that she would type it out and leave it on his desk before she left.   

That night Billy read the prayer. It said: Dear God, don't let me fail as a teacher. I can't handle this class with Billy in it. Touch his heart. He is someone who can become either very good or very evil.   

That final sentence hit Billy like a hammer. Because just hours before he was contemplating on some illegal business that would make him very rich, but very evil.   

Billy read that prayer a few times, and finally he changed his mind about what he was contemplating on.   Eventually he located his old schoolteacher and told her how her prayer changed his life.   

The old school teacher smiled and said: And I thought that God took that prayer and forgot to answer it.   

Amazing story, isn't it? Really amazing. Yes, let us remember that every prayer uttered is also every prayer answered.   

And it will be answered powerfully, when it is uttered from humble lips that are surrendered to the merciful and loving God.

So may we begin and end our every prayer with that prayer of the tax collector: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.