1 Kings 19:16, 19-21/ Galatians 5:1, 13-18/ Luke 9:51-62
The month of June can be called a month of beginnings and endings.
The school holidays started in June and it’s also going to end in June.
And as we look at the calendar, the month of June signals the end of the first half of the year and after that it will be the beginning of the second half of the year.
But for the Church in Singapore, the month of June this year has a special significance in terms of beginnings and endings.
In the month of June, we are blessed with three priestly ordinations – Fr Bernard Wee (21 June), Fr Eugene Lee CSsR (27 June), Fr Gerard Danker SJ (29 June).
We rejoice with these three young priests as they began their priesthood in the month of June.
Yet, it is also in the month of June that we bade farewell to two priests as they returned home to the Lord – Fr Alfred Chan (1 June) and Fr Joseph Yau (22 June). May God grant them eternal rest and reward them for their labours.
So for some, God has called to follow Him and serve Him; for some, God has called home to be back with Him.
So, for the Church in Singapore, the month of June is indeed a month of beginnings and endings.
In the gospel, we hear of beginnings and endings too.
Jesus was beginning His journey to Jerusalem. And it will be there that His earthly journey would also come to an end.
And as He began His journey to Jerusalem, He immediately faced rejection from a Samaritan town.
But instead of retaliation, as James and John suggested, Jesus resolutely went on in His direction.
Along with that, Jesus also gave His disciples a teaching on the cost of discipleship.
Yes, to be His disciple, one would have to face rejection. Also there would be no comfort and no security – there would be nowhere to lay the head.
Even priorities are changed as one has to leave family ties aside.
Even personal sentiments have to give way to the direction set for the disciple.
In short, if we want to be a disciple of Jesus, we do not have the freedom to do what we like.
That sounds like tough news, even more like bad news!
But a true disciple of Jesus will understand the good news of discipleship, and that is to be free from other attachments so as to follow Jesus totally and freely.
For the disciple, there is only one direction – to focus on Jesus and to follow in the direction of Jesus.
We are very familiar with that classic children’s story of the hare and the tortoise. Maybe let us revisit the story and see what new lesson we can learn from it.
Once upon a time there was a hare who, boasting how he could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing tortoise for its slowness.
Then one day, the irate tortoise answered back: “There’s no denying you’re swift, but you can be beaten!” The hare squealed with laughter.
“Beaten in a race? By whom? Not you, surely! I bet there’s nobody in the world that can win against me, I’m so fast. Now, why don’t you try?”
Annoyed by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the challenge. A course was planned, and the next day at dawn they stood at the starting line.
The hare yawned sleepily as the meek tortoise trudged slowly off.
When the hare saw how painfully slow his rival was, he decided, half asleep on his feet, to have a quick nap. “Take your time!” he said. “I’ll have forty winks and catch up with you in a minute.”
The hare woke up after a while and gazed at the tortoise. But the tortoise was only a short distance away, having barely covered a quarter of the course.
Then the hare decided he might as well have lunch and off he went to munch some cabbages he had noticed in a nearby field. But the heavy meal and the hot sun made his eyelids droop. With a careless glance at the tortoise, now halfway along the course, he decided to have another snooze before flashing past the winning post.
And smiling at the thought of the look on the tortoise’s face when it saw the hare speed by, he fell fast asleep and was soon snoring happily.
The sun started to sink, below the horizon, and the tortoise, who had been plodding towards the winning post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish.
At that very point, the hare woke with a jolt. He could see the tortoise a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and bounded at a great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and he’d be first at the finish line.
But the hare’s last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him to the winning post. Poor hare! Tired and in disgrace, he slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him.
And the tortoise said, “Slowly and steady wins the race!”
But the hare could not accept it and so he asked for a re-match.
And this time he trained hard for the race.
So came the day for the race, and the hare stretched every muscle and warmed up thoroughly.
The gun was fired, the race began, but in the end, the hare still lost the race! Why?!?! Well, the hare ran in the wrong direction.
So besides the moral of the story being that slow and steady wins the race, there is also another essential factor – One must be focused and be firm in going the right direction.
To be a disciple of Jesus, we need to be focused on Him and follow Him faithfully in His direction.
When we are focused and faithful to Jesus, then we will have a good beginning as well as a good ending.
Click the links under My Blog List to get to Chinese and English weekday homilies.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
12th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 23.06.2013
Zechariah 12:10-11, 13:1/ Galatians 3:26-29/ Luke 9:18-24
In a dictionary, we can find the meanings and the definitions of words.
Depending on the size of the dictionary, there can be anything from 200,000 words to 600,000 words.
And yet, every year, new words are added into the dictionary, on the average, about 3000 words.
Among the many words, what is of interest are the nouns.
A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing and abstract idea.
Hence, it can be said that whatever exist can be named, and that name is a noun.
So nouns are naming words. Everything that we can see or talk about is represented by a word which names it, and that naming word we call a noun.
So, everything has a name to it, and when we don’t know the name of something, we just call it a “thing” until someone tells us what the name of that thing is.
And one noun that has come up frequently over the past week is this is this 4-letter word called haze.
And yes, we see it, we smell it, it irritates our eyes, our nose, our throat and it has become a national issue.
Connected with the haze is an abbreviation noun called PSI, which stands for Pollutant Standard Index, but Singaporeans have coined up words like “Please Stay Indoors”, “Poisonous Smoke Index”.
So, whether it’s that smoky thing that irritates our eyes, nose and throat, or that noun that is used to name it, there is a name for it.
So, if animals and places and things and ideas can be named, then all the more a person should have a name.
In the gospel, Jesus asked His disciples who they say He was.
Jesus did not ask them what His name was. Jesus asked them a rather prodding question.
He asked them: Who do you say I am? In other words, He was asking them who He is in their lives, what influence He has on them, what meaning and direction does He give to their lives.
That same question is also now put to us: Who is Jesus in our lives?
It’s not just about His name. It is about knowing where He is in our lives, what meaning in life He has for us, and what influence and direction He is giving us.
But to say who Jesus is, would also mean to say who we are.
And Jesus made it very clear to us that if He were to mean anything to us, then it would be that we follow Him, renounce ourselves, and take up our cross every day.
That is the long and short of what Jesus means to us – to renounce ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.
To renounce ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him would mean to listen to Jesus, and to see what He is showing us and making that decision to follow His direction.
Over this weekend, there was a camp planned for the Sec 3 students.
The youth facilitators were on a high note after doing the Sec 1 and 2 camp last weekend and they were all geared up to do this camp for the Sec 3 students.
When the haze started getting bad on Wednesday, the facilitators were still undeterred as they had prepared intensely for this camp.
As the PSI rose to unhealthy levels, the camp organizers and facilitators prayed fervently for the success of the camp.
On Friday morning, despite the heavy haze and the high PSI, about 40 camp facilitators and Sec 3 students were gathered at the retreat centre to begin the camp.
Everybody was excited and raring to get into the mood of the camp and spirits were high.
But towards the late morning, the haze was bad and the PSI indicated a very unhealthy level and even crossed over to the hazardous level.
I could even feel my eyes smarting and the throat getting hoarse.
Then I received news that MOE has instructed that all school activities for June are to be cancelled.
Also, other churches have cancelled their planned youth camps.
Even parish groups have cancelled their meetings.
So I was faced with a dilemma. Should I stop the Sec 3 camp, now that they have already started?
I discussed with the camp organizers, facilitators and they said it would be a pity to stop the camp and send the students home because a lot of money was spent on the logistics already.
I was tempted to go along with the popular opinion of letting the camp go on, but as I look at the facts before me, I had to do some critical praying.
Finally, with a heavy heart, I had to make the decision to stop the camp.
There were whines and groans, and more so when the PSI dropped a bit and the air cleared a little, I was asked to reconsider the decision.
But Jesus had shown me the signs. If I were to listen to Him, then I had to renounce the temptation to be popular and think of the health and safety of the students.
To know who Jesus is would mean that we must believe that His way is the best way, although it is the way of the road less travelled.
May we have the faith, the courage and the clarity to follow the way of Jesus, so that we can say we know who Jesus is.
In a dictionary, we can find the meanings and the definitions of words.
Depending on the size of the dictionary, there can be anything from 200,000 words to 600,000 words.
And yet, every year, new words are added into the dictionary, on the average, about 3000 words.
Among the many words, what is of interest are the nouns.
A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing and abstract idea.
Hence, it can be said that whatever exist can be named, and that name is a noun.
So nouns are naming words. Everything that we can see or talk about is represented by a word which names it, and that naming word we call a noun.
So, everything has a name to it, and when we don’t know the name of something, we just call it a “thing” until someone tells us what the name of that thing is.
And one noun that has come up frequently over the past week is this is this 4-letter word called haze.
And yes, we see it, we smell it, it irritates our eyes, our nose, our throat and it has become a national issue.
Connected with the haze is an abbreviation noun called PSI, which stands for Pollutant Standard Index, but Singaporeans have coined up words like “Please Stay Indoors”, “Poisonous Smoke Index”.
So, whether it’s that smoky thing that irritates our eyes, nose and throat, or that noun that is used to name it, there is a name for it.
So, if animals and places and things and ideas can be named, then all the more a person should have a name.
In the gospel, Jesus asked His disciples who they say He was.
Jesus did not ask them what His name was. Jesus asked them a rather prodding question.
He asked them: Who do you say I am? In other words, He was asking them who He is in their lives, what influence He has on them, what meaning and direction does He give to their lives.
That same question is also now put to us: Who is Jesus in our lives?
It’s not just about His name. It is about knowing where He is in our lives, what meaning in life He has for us, and what influence and direction He is giving us.
But to say who Jesus is, would also mean to say who we are.
And Jesus made it very clear to us that if He were to mean anything to us, then it would be that we follow Him, renounce ourselves, and take up our cross every day.
That is the long and short of what Jesus means to us – to renounce ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.
To renounce ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him would mean to listen to Jesus, and to see what He is showing us and making that decision to follow His direction.
Over this weekend, there was a camp planned for the Sec 3 students.
The youth facilitators were on a high note after doing the Sec 1 and 2 camp last weekend and they were all geared up to do this camp for the Sec 3 students.
When the haze started getting bad on Wednesday, the facilitators were still undeterred as they had prepared intensely for this camp.
As the PSI rose to unhealthy levels, the camp organizers and facilitators prayed fervently for the success of the camp.
On Friday morning, despite the heavy haze and the high PSI, about 40 camp facilitators and Sec 3 students were gathered at the retreat centre to begin the camp.
Everybody was excited and raring to get into the mood of the camp and spirits were high.
But towards the late morning, the haze was bad and the PSI indicated a very unhealthy level and even crossed over to the hazardous level.
I could even feel my eyes smarting and the throat getting hoarse.
Then I received news that MOE has instructed that all school activities for June are to be cancelled.
Also, other churches have cancelled their planned youth camps.
Even parish groups have cancelled their meetings.
So I was faced with a dilemma. Should I stop the Sec 3 camp, now that they have already started?
I discussed with the camp organizers, facilitators and they said it would be a pity to stop the camp and send the students home because a lot of money was spent on the logistics already.
I was tempted to go along with the popular opinion of letting the camp go on, but as I look at the facts before me, I had to do some critical praying.
Finally, with a heavy heart, I had to make the decision to stop the camp.
There were whines and groans, and more so when the PSI dropped a bit and the air cleared a little, I was asked to reconsider the decision.
But Jesus had shown me the signs. If I were to listen to Him, then I had to renounce the temptation to be popular and think of the health and safety of the students.
To know who Jesus is would mean that we must believe that His way is the best way, although it is the way of the road less travelled.
May we have the faith, the courage and the clarity to follow the way of Jesus, so that we can say we know who Jesus is.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
11th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 16.06.2013
2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13/ Galatians 2:16, 19-21/ Luke 7:36-50
A good number of us present here should be going for yearly medical checkups or yearly health screening.
The obvious reason is that as we get older, it would be good and necessary for us to maintain our health, or whatever that is left of it.
But as much as it is good for us, and even necessary, we tend to delay it and even try to avoid it.
Because we like to think that as long as there is no severe pain and that we can eat and sleep and do everything else in between, then there is nothing really seriously wrong with us.
And our cars seem to get a better treatment. We send our cars for regular servicing, car wash, car polishing, etc.
Actually a medical checkup is not that troublesome, nor is it that painful.
It just requires a bit of fasting and that is for the blood test.
Well, there is this joke about a boy who went for his first medical checkup.
As he was waiting for his turn to see the doctor, he met his classmate, who seemed to be crying and clutching his finger in pain.
When he asked what happened, his classmate told him that he just had his blood test. The doctor took a big needle and poked it into his finger and drew out a lot of blood. And it was so painful.
When the boy heard this, his eyes grew big and then he jumped up and ran out.
But the nurse caught hold of him and asked him where he was going.
With a frightened voice, the boy said: If the doctor poked the finger for the blood test, then where will he poke for the urine test?
Well, pain is real, although some other kinds of pain may just be imaginary.
But painful or otherwise, a blood test and a urine test will show us what is really happening inside of us and also the state of our health.
Whatever it is, a test is necessary in order to get some results that will tell us the truth.
Today’s gospel began with Simon the Pharisee inviting Jesus to a meal at his house.
Simon the Pharisee had some respect for Jesus as a prophet, so maybe that was why he invited Him.
And then when they were at table, a woman with a reputation, came in with an alabaster jar of ointment, and we heard what she did to Jesus.
Simon the Pharisee began thinking. “What’s happening?!?! That woman is touching Jesus like that!!! If Jesus were a prophet, then He should know what kind of woman she is. Hmmm …Jesus cannot be a prophet then. Maybe both of them are the same kind.”
So in the mind of Simon the Pharisee, he had made a judgement on Jesus and on the woman. Just that he was not saying it.
But what Simon didn’t know was that he was in the presence of the Divine Doctor who knows what is in the heart of a man.
And Jesus, the Divine Doctor, was about to give Simon a spiritual checkup.
Jesus told Simon a parable of two men in debt, one owing a much larger sum than the other.
Both of them were unable to pay, but they were pardoned. So which of the two would be more grateful and thankful?
The answer was obvious and Simon got it right.
So the test was conducted and the results were out and put before Simon.
It was quite clear to Simon that he had judged the woman as well as Jesus.
And now, from his own mouth, he had proclaimed a judgement on himself. Can he still deny it?
How Simon reacted or responded to Jesus, we were not told.
But reading between the lines of the gospel, comes a lingering question: Are we like Simon the Pharisee?
We scrutinize others to see what they are thinking and what they are doing, and yet we don’t examine our own conscience.
There is a story about a turtle family that decided to go on a picnic.
Turtles, being naturally slow about things, took a long time to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place.
After more than a year of their journey, they found a place ideal for them. So they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. Now a picnic without salt would be a disaster, and they all agreed.
After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. But he agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.
A year passed and the little turtle had not returned. Then two years … three years… then on the third year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and began to unwrap a sandwich.
At that point, the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, “Ah ha! See! I knew you wouldn’t wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt”.
The point of the story is that we waste our time scrutinizing others and forming judgements on them.
We seemed to be concerned about what others are doing and they wrong they had done, but we don’t examine ourselves and the wrong that is in us.
But Jesus our Divine Doctor and Healer wants us to go through a spiritual checkup and to be healed of our sinfulness.
Jesus wants to forgive all our sins, and heal us with His love, so that we can love God, love others, and love ourselves.
Let us ask for this forgiveness and healing, for ourselves, as well as for others.
A good number of us present here should be going for yearly medical checkups or yearly health screening.
The obvious reason is that as we get older, it would be good and necessary for us to maintain our health, or whatever that is left of it.
But as much as it is good for us, and even necessary, we tend to delay it and even try to avoid it.
Because we like to think that as long as there is no severe pain and that we can eat and sleep and do everything else in between, then there is nothing really seriously wrong with us.
And our cars seem to get a better treatment. We send our cars for regular servicing, car wash, car polishing, etc.
Actually a medical checkup is not that troublesome, nor is it that painful.
It just requires a bit of fasting and that is for the blood test.
Well, there is this joke about a boy who went for his first medical checkup.
As he was waiting for his turn to see the doctor, he met his classmate, who seemed to be crying and clutching his finger in pain.
When he asked what happened, his classmate told him that he just had his blood test. The doctor took a big needle and poked it into his finger and drew out a lot of blood. And it was so painful.
When the boy heard this, his eyes grew big and then he jumped up and ran out.
But the nurse caught hold of him and asked him where he was going.
With a frightened voice, the boy said: If the doctor poked the finger for the blood test, then where will he poke for the urine test?
Well, pain is real, although some other kinds of pain may just be imaginary.
But painful or otherwise, a blood test and a urine test will show us what is really happening inside of us and also the state of our health.
Whatever it is, a test is necessary in order to get some results that will tell us the truth.
Today’s gospel began with Simon the Pharisee inviting Jesus to a meal at his house.
Simon the Pharisee had some respect for Jesus as a prophet, so maybe that was why he invited Him.
And then when they were at table, a woman with a reputation, came in with an alabaster jar of ointment, and we heard what she did to Jesus.
Simon the Pharisee began thinking. “What’s happening?!?! That woman is touching Jesus like that!!! If Jesus were a prophet, then He should know what kind of woman she is. Hmmm …Jesus cannot be a prophet then. Maybe both of them are the same kind.”
So in the mind of Simon the Pharisee, he had made a judgement on Jesus and on the woman. Just that he was not saying it.
But what Simon didn’t know was that he was in the presence of the Divine Doctor who knows what is in the heart of a man.
And Jesus, the Divine Doctor, was about to give Simon a spiritual checkup.
Jesus told Simon a parable of two men in debt, one owing a much larger sum than the other.
Both of them were unable to pay, but they were pardoned. So which of the two would be more grateful and thankful?
The answer was obvious and Simon got it right.
So the test was conducted and the results were out and put before Simon.
It was quite clear to Simon that he had judged the woman as well as Jesus.
And now, from his own mouth, he had proclaimed a judgement on himself. Can he still deny it?
How Simon reacted or responded to Jesus, we were not told.
But reading between the lines of the gospel, comes a lingering question: Are we like Simon the Pharisee?
We scrutinize others to see what they are thinking and what they are doing, and yet we don’t examine our own conscience.
There is a story about a turtle family that decided to go on a picnic.
Turtles, being naturally slow about things, took a long time to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place.
After more than a year of their journey, they found a place ideal for them. So they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. Now a picnic without salt would be a disaster, and they all agreed.
After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. But he agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.
A year passed and the little turtle had not returned. Then two years … three years… then on the third year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and began to unwrap a sandwich.
At that point, the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, “Ah ha! See! I knew you wouldn’t wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt”.
The point of the story is that we waste our time scrutinizing others and forming judgements on them.
We seemed to be concerned about what others are doing and they wrong they had done, but we don’t examine ourselves and the wrong that is in us.
But Jesus our Divine Doctor and Healer wants us to go through a spiritual checkup and to be healed of our sinfulness.
Jesus wants to forgive all our sins, and heal us with His love, so that we can love God, love others, and love ourselves.
Let us ask for this forgiveness and healing, for ourselves, as well as for others.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
10th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 09.06.2013
1 Kings 17:17-24/ Galatians 1:11-19/ Luke 7:11-17
If we have to choose a name, whether for ourselves or for someone or for something, what criteria would we use.
What do we think a name should have, or should be?
Certainly a name must have a good meaning. No one would choose a name with a strange or funny meaning.
By the way, Teresa (the name of our patron saint) means “harvester”.
A name should also have a nice sound to it. And it should also be easily pronounced by aunties and grandmothers, because a difficult-to-pronounce name might displace their dentures.
With all these considerations, what would we think of the name “Barnabas”?
Although that name is found in the New Testament, it is not that common or popular a name.
But it has a good meaning. It means “son of consolation” or “son of encouragement”.
The apostles gave that name to the convert who sold away his property and gave the money to the apostles.
And Barnabas, who was that convert, lived up to his name. He went around preaching the Good News that brought consolation to those in distress, and he encouraged the Christian communities to stand firm in their faith in the face of trials.
St. Barnabas was indeed a great figure in the early Church, and his feast day is on the 11th June.
So the name Barnabas has the meaning of “one who consoles and encourages”.
Consolation and encouragement are two qualities that also express the love and mercy of God.
Consolation and encouragement are also two qualities that people yearn for in times of grief and brokenness.
In the gospel, we heard that Jesus was on His way to a town called Naim with His disciples and a great number of people.
When He was near the gate of that town, there was another crowd coming out.
It was a funeral procession of a dead man, the only son of a woman, who was a widow.
In that moment, a celebrity was met with a tragedy; life was met with a death.
When Jesus saw the widow, He felt sorry for her. His heart went out to her.
Then He told her, “Do not cry.” He then went up and put His hand on the bier, and the next thing He said was, “Young man, I tell you to get up.”
And then the young man was brought back to life, and with that the people were filled with awe and praised God.
Jesus felt for the widow. His heart went out to her. He consoled her, and He even brought her son back to life.
With that, Jesus gave the widow and the people the faith in God and the courage to face the trials of life.
In what Jesus said and did, He taught the people about the heart of God – the heart of God that goes out to us to console us and to encourage us.
There is a story by an unknown writer and the title is “The most important part of the body”. The story goes like this.
My mother used to often ask me what the most important part of the body was. Young as I was, I thought sound was very important to us as humans. So l’d say, “My ears, Mommy!"
“No!” she would say. “There are so many people who are deaf! But you keep thinking and I will ask you again soon.” And so it went on until several years passed before she asked me again.
Since making my first attempt, I contemplated on the correct answer. Or so I thought I had!
So this time I told her, “Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes.”
She looked at me and told me, “You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind.”
Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and after a few years, mother asked me a couple of times more and always her answer was, “No. But you are getting smarter every year, my child!”
Then one year, my grandfather died. Everybody was sad and everybody was crying.
Even my father wept. I remember that especially because that was only the second time in my life that I had ever seen him cry.
My mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to grandpa. She asked me, “Don’t you know the most important body part yet, my child?”
I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me.
She saw the confusion on my face and told me, “This question is very important. It shows how you have lived your life. For every body part you gave as the answer in the past, I have told you that it was wrong, even giving you the reason why. But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson.”
She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes welling up with tears. She said, “My dear, the most important part of the body is your shoulder.”
“Is it because it holds up my head?” l asked.
“No,” she replied, “it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear. l only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it.”
Then and there I knew that the most important body part is the part that shows sympathy to the pain of others.
People will forget what we said. People will forget what we did. But people will NEVER forget how we made them feel.
Our names may not be Barnabas, it doesn’t matter. Our shoulders may not be broad and strong, it doesn’t matter either.
But let us be a consolation and an encouragement for others so that they can feel the heart of God and a shoulder to cry on.
In times of grief and anguish, in sorrow and in pain, let us be a consolation and encouragement for others, so that they will know that God has visited them to give them life and hope.
If we have to choose a name, whether for ourselves or for someone or for something, what criteria would we use.
What do we think a name should have, or should be?
Certainly a name must have a good meaning. No one would choose a name with a strange or funny meaning.
By the way, Teresa (the name of our patron saint) means “harvester”.
A name should also have a nice sound to it. And it should also be easily pronounced by aunties and grandmothers, because a difficult-to-pronounce name might displace their dentures.
With all these considerations, what would we think of the name “Barnabas”?
Although that name is found in the New Testament, it is not that common or popular a name.
But it has a good meaning. It means “son of consolation” or “son of encouragement”.
The apostles gave that name to the convert who sold away his property and gave the money to the apostles.
And Barnabas, who was that convert, lived up to his name. He went around preaching the Good News that brought consolation to those in distress, and he encouraged the Christian communities to stand firm in their faith in the face of trials.
St. Barnabas was indeed a great figure in the early Church, and his feast day is on the 11th June.
So the name Barnabas has the meaning of “one who consoles and encourages”.
Consolation and encouragement are two qualities that also express the love and mercy of God.
Consolation and encouragement are also two qualities that people yearn for in times of grief and brokenness.
In the gospel, we heard that Jesus was on His way to a town called Naim with His disciples and a great number of people.
When He was near the gate of that town, there was another crowd coming out.
It was a funeral procession of a dead man, the only son of a woman, who was a widow.
In that moment, a celebrity was met with a tragedy; life was met with a death.
When Jesus saw the widow, He felt sorry for her. His heart went out to her.
Then He told her, “Do not cry.” He then went up and put His hand on the bier, and the next thing He said was, “Young man, I tell you to get up.”
And then the young man was brought back to life, and with that the people were filled with awe and praised God.
Jesus felt for the widow. His heart went out to her. He consoled her, and He even brought her son back to life.
With that, Jesus gave the widow and the people the faith in God and the courage to face the trials of life.
In what Jesus said and did, He taught the people about the heart of God – the heart of God that goes out to us to console us and to encourage us.
There is a story by an unknown writer and the title is “The most important part of the body”. The story goes like this.
My mother used to often ask me what the most important part of the body was. Young as I was, I thought sound was very important to us as humans. So l’d say, “My ears, Mommy!"
“No!” she would say. “There are so many people who are deaf! But you keep thinking and I will ask you again soon.” And so it went on until several years passed before she asked me again.
Since making my first attempt, I contemplated on the correct answer. Or so I thought I had!
So this time I told her, “Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes.”
She looked at me and told me, “You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind.”
Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and after a few years, mother asked me a couple of times more and always her answer was, “No. But you are getting smarter every year, my child!”
Then one year, my grandfather died. Everybody was sad and everybody was crying.
Even my father wept. I remember that especially because that was only the second time in my life that I had ever seen him cry.
My mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to grandpa. She asked me, “Don’t you know the most important body part yet, my child?”
I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me.
She saw the confusion on my face and told me, “This question is very important. It shows how you have lived your life. For every body part you gave as the answer in the past, I have told you that it was wrong, even giving you the reason why. But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson.”
She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes welling up with tears. She said, “My dear, the most important part of the body is your shoulder.”
“Is it because it holds up my head?” l asked.
“No,” she replied, “it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear. l only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it.”
Then and there I knew that the most important body part is the part that shows sympathy to the pain of others.
People will forget what we said. People will forget what we did. But people will NEVER forget how we made them feel.
Our names may not be Barnabas, it doesn’t matter. Our shoulders may not be broad and strong, it doesn’t matter either.
But let us be a consolation and an encouragement for others so that they can feel the heart of God and a shoulder to cry on.
In times of grief and anguish, in sorrow and in pain, let us be a consolation and encouragement for others, so that they will know that God has visited them to give them life and hope.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Corpus Christi, Year C, 02.06.2013
Genesis 14:18-20 / 1 Cor 11:23-26 / Lk 9:11-17
Do we know what is the one big event that is happening in Singapore now? (It started on Friday)
Still thinking? Here is a clue. There are four words to it. The first word begins with “The”.
Yes, this big event is “The Great Singapore Sale” and it is an island-wide event.
It’s the time where we can “shop till we drop” on things that are on offer at great discounts.
Yes, bargains never fail to attract our attention. By the way, Singaporeans, when they go overseas for holidays, they are known as “birds”.
Because whenever they see a bargain, they will say “cheap, cheap, cheap” (they sound like birds : P)
So for The Great Singapore Sale, the Singapore birds would be there also, looking for bargains and bargains.
Yet, it is said that a bargain is something you don’t need, but it is put at a price you cannot resist.
There seems to be this void in us that longs to be filled, and we will fill it with bargains, offers, pleasures, things, money, status.
It is like a bottomless pit, a black hole which sucks in everything and yet leaves us longing for more.
Somehow, contentment and satisfaction seem to be missing in our vocabulary. At least they seem to be the words that we seldom use.
There is a longing in our hearts, but do we know what we are really longing for?
In the gospel, we heard that a crowd of about 5000 followed Jesus. Now, that is not a small number of people.
What were they looking for in Jesus? What do they want from Him?
Yes, they were looking for something, they want something. But we also know what Jesus did for them.
Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God – about truth and justice, about mercy and compassion and forgiveness.
And then He healed them of their troubles, their afflictions and their obsessions.
And finally He fed them with simple food of fish and bread.
They ate as much as they wanted, and they knew what contentment and satisfaction was, because they ate as much as they wanted.
We have come to the Mass to listen to the voice of God in the scripture readings.
The readings teach us about the kingdom of God and how we ought to live our lives.
And today we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi – Jesus feeds us with His Body.
This is the one big event of the Church on every Sunday; in fact it is happening every day at the daily Mass.
For Singapore, it is The Great Singapore Sale. For the Church it is “The Body of Christ”.
To be fed with the Body of Christ is our hearts’ deepest desire that will bring about true contentment.
But we have to realize the contentment that the Body of Christ will give us.
There is a story of a man who was always grumbling about his wife and complaining about his life.
So the Lord sent an angel to him to grant him 3 wishes. The angel asked him to make his first wish.
Immediately the man wished that his wife would die so that he could marry a younger and better wife.
So his wish was granted, and his wife died.
Then during the wake, his relatives and friends talked about how good a woman his wife was, caring for the home and his needs, docile and humble, always giving in to him and making sacrifices for him.
Then the man felt remorseful for taking his wife for granted and always grumbling and complaining about her.
So for his second wish, he asked that his wife would come back to life, and so she did.
Then there was only one wish left, and he thought hard about it.
Finally he asked the angel what should he wish for.
And the angel replied : Finally you have come to your senses. Just ask to be contended and satisfied, and then you will be happy.
So we have heard the scripture readings which teach us about the kingdom of God.
As we come forward later for communion, we will be given the Body of Christ.
Let us ask that the Body of Christ will fill our hearts with contentment.
May the Body of Christ heal us of our afflictions of body and mind, and may the Body of Christ also heal us of our obsessions so that our hearts will be filled with joy and happiness.
And may we in turn be the Body of Christ for others so that they too will be filled and be contended.
Let this be the great event today. And may it be the great event every day.
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