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Saturday, September 27, 2014

26th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 28.09.2014

Ezekiel 18:25-28/ Phipippians 2:1-11/ Matthew 21:28-32

Life has many contradictions, many paradoxes and many reversals of fortunes.

What may seem to be a good thing may turn out bad.

What may seem to be a bad thing may turn out good.

But we can only see the present in its limitation, we can only comprehend the here and now.

We don’t know about the future, so we judge everything as good and bad according to how we see it now.

For example, if one of our children is rather slow, or naughty, or not very pleasing to us.

What will be our attitude towards that child, as compared to the rest of our children who might be cleverer, or smarter, or better looking or more capable?

Surely we will favour the “better” one.

As for the other one, we will just have to accept him although we will not have much hopes or expectations from him.

Yet, life has shown us over and over again that there are many paradoxes and many reversals of fortunes.

This is also a recurring theme in the Bible, that the first will be last and the last first.

Jesus told parables like the rich man and Lazarus, the prodigal son, the workers in the harvest (last week) to tell us about the paradoxes and reversals in life.

Today he told another parable of two sons and their obedience to their father.

The father asked both sons to go and work in the vineyard.

The first said yes but yet did not go. 

The other said no but later changed his mind and went.

Jesus actually addressed this parable to the chief priests and elders.

The tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners were like the first son.

They sinned, but when they heard the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness, they repented and turned back to God.

On the other hand, the chief priest and the elders were like the second son who said yes to all that God has commanded but yet did nothing to change their lives.

In many ways, this parable is also addressed to us to make us reflect on how we view people and how we treat them.

The reality of life is that we favour those who are more pleasing to us, but we are indifferent or ignore those whom we think do not meet our hopes and expectations.

There is a story of a couple had a few children. All were normal and intelligent.

Except one who had Down’s Syndrome and hence was slow and different from the rest.

The couple took joy in their children but for this special child, they had to swallow their disappointment and embarrassment.

At times, they even asked themselves why they were burdened with such a child.

It seems that they will have to care for him all their lives.

As the years went by, the rest of their children got married and left home to start their own families.

As the couple became older, their children also became busier with their own families.

Naturally, the couple felt lonelier with all their children gone. Except for one, the slow “special” one.

Because of his inabilities and disabilities, he obviously had to stay with his parents.

In the past, the parents thought of him as a burden and an obstacle to their freedom in life.

But now, the old couple realized that he is the only one who is with them day and night.

Once upon a time, he had to depend on them and they had to fend for him.

Now it seems that in their lonely old age, it is they who have to depend on him despite his inabilities and disabilities.

It is just another story about how life has many paradoxes and reversals of fortune or status.

Let us not ignore these whom we think are of little or no use to us or those who are not pleasing to us and give us problems.

God loves these people as much as He loves us.

And the paradox of life is that God will turn these people into His instruments to show us His love.

So let us accept those whom we think may not count for much in life.

A time will come when they will show us what really counts in life.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

25th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 21-09-2014

Isa 55:6-9 / Phil 1:20-24, 27 / Mat 20:1-16

This weekend is the F1 (Formula One) race in Singapore.

There is much hype and publicity about this F1 race since it started a few years ago.

Whatever it is, the outcome of the race is that there will be only one winner and the rest are losers.

Yes, the winner takes it all, and the losers will be nowhere at all.

So whether it be the F1 race, or any sport or competition or in the business world, or in the hierarchy of any organization, it is the first, or the winner, that really matters.

The others just fade into the background of obscurity.

So today's gospel parable may not sound very fair to us if we put ourselves into the shoes of those who were the first to be hired and yet in the end got the same wages as that of the late comers or last comers.

In fact, we may even be resentful of the fact that the late comers did the least and got the same wages as us.

But as the 1st reading tells us, the heavens are as high above the earth as God's ways are above man's ways and God's thoughts are above man's thoughts.

We must realize that in God's eyes, there are no winners or losers, no first-comers or late comers, no Formula One or Formula Zero.

Some are called to do great things, some are called to do little things, but everyone is good for something and no one is good for nothing.

The 2nd reading urges us to avoid anything in our everyday lives that would be unworthy of the gospel of Christ.

Let us avoid the comparison between the first and the last, the good and the bad, the happy and the sad.

Such comparisons will only lead to envy and resentment.

As the landlord in the gospel parable said: Why be envious because I am generous?

Yes, God is generous to the great and little alike, as well as to the first and the last.

May we realize that and rejoice in God's generosity and give thanks for His blessings.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Sunday, 14-09-14

Numbers 21:4-9 / Philippians 2:6-11 / John 3:13-17

To say that God sent His only Son to die for our sins is certainly not wrong but it may not be that entirely right either.

As a matter of fact, Jesus did die for our sins and He died a cruel death by crucifixion.

Jesus was nailed to the cross and was flaunted before the face of God as if to mock God for sending His Son to earth.

If it had all ended on the cross, then evil would have scored a victory because God did nothing to prevent or save Jesus from the cruelty and death on the cross.

Yes, God did not save Jesus from death. But since God did not save Jesus from death, then how would Jesus dying on the cross save us from our sins.

Well, God did not save Jesus from death. But God saved Jesus out of death (Hebrews 5:7). And that gave the whole twist to that cruel death by crucifixion.

It  is because God saved Jesus out of death by raising Him from the dead, then by the resurrection of Jesus we too are saved from our sins.

St. Paul, in the 2nd reading reiterates that when he said Christ did not cling to His equality with God but emptied Himself, and He was humbler yet even to accepting death on the cross.

But God raised Him high and gave Him the name above all other names and all creation will bend the knee at the name of Jesus.

So for St. Paul, the death of Jesus on the cross is the essence of our hope, although the cruel death on the cross seems to exclude any kind of hope.

But more than just a sign of hope, the cross is also the sign of love. Although that seems to be pushing the meaning of the cross to its limits already.

But the gospel tells us that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

For God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that through Him the world might be saved.

So saying that God sent His only Son to die for our sins may not be wrong but it is not the whole picture.

God sent His Son to love us and the price of that love is death on the cross.

But that love was so powerful that even the meaning of the cross was changed, for the cross of death has now become the cross of love that triumphs over sin and death.

So the holy and precious cross is now raised aloft for the Church and for all the world to see.

For in the cross is life and love, forgiveness and healing, redemption and salvation.

Let us kneel before the Holy Cross and venerate it for it protects us and the powers of evil and darkness cower and flee before it.

Let us also pray with the Cross so that we will faithfully and courageously follow Jesus in His way of the Cross and may we also glory with Him in the Cross.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

23rd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 07.09.2014

Ezekiel 33:7-9/ Romans 13:8-10/ Matthew 18:15-20

Driving a car in Singapore is certainly not an easy thing. Because in order to drive a car, we need to have a car. And in order to own a car we would need to strike it big at the lottery (since Singapore is the most expensive place to own a car).

And in order to drive a car we need to have a license, which is not that easy to get and it can be quite costly too.

There is this joke about a man who won the first prize of a brand-new car.

But he had no driving license and he was anxious to get a driving license as he wanted to be the first driver of his brand new car.

So he called up the driving school and he told the receptionist that he was desperate to learn how to drive, and that he wanted to learn how to drive in just 15 minutes!

The receptionist thought for a while and then replied him: Well sir, there is a “crash” course!  : P

Learning how to drive a car is one thing; being a good driver is another.

When we are on the wheel, something strange happens to us. We turn into some kind of ugly monster.

We become a speed-demon and a road-bully. We will scold and curse other drivers.

No wonder there is a prayer for blessing of cars. So many sins are committed in the car. 

We may try to be a good driver, but what about those who road-hog, or suddenly cut into our lane without signaling, who tail-gate, who show us bad signs, and who drive recklessly.

And then there are those who text while driving. There is this warning: Pray if you love Jesus; text while driving if you want to see Him!  : 0

In times like these we wish that the traffic cops are around to catch those drivers.

But most of the time we end up scolding and cursing those kind of drivers in the confines of our cars, with the windows rolled up.

What we won’t think of doing would be to track down these reckless drivers and confront them. Oh no, we won’t do that.

Jesus said in the gospel that when your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone.

But whether it is our brother or sister or stranger, we would avoid having it out with that party concerned.

That is too risky and we might end up getting traumatized.

We would rather complain about that person to others, gossip about his wrong-doing, and slime his reputation.

And if we want to be more vicious, we will write an anonymous poison letter to some people of authority about that person’s wrong-doing. Or better still, use a pseudonym and splash it all over social media.

To say it all in one word, it is about taking revenge but without confrontation. The human way of “correcting” a person is to “criminalize” him in order to teach him a lesson.

But the way of Jesus, the Christian way, is not to teach the person a lesson but to help him learn a lesson.

There is a big difference between teaching a person a lesson and helping a person learn a lesson.

To help a person to learn a lesson in order to correct him is certainly a more difficult way, but it is the Christian way.

As Christians, we have to be good and it is also our duty to help others be good.

There is no need to teach others a lesson in order to correct them. 

Rather we must help them to learn a lesson in order to correct them.

That would mean that we ourselves must learn the lesson of correction.

Jesus says this in the gospel: I tell you solemnly once again, if  two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For when two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.

It means that first and foremost, we need to learn the lesson of prayer.

There is no crash course in this kind of prayer. Praying for the correction of others demands love and faith, perseverance and persistence on our part.

When we learn that lesson of prayer, then Jesus will show us the way to help a person learn a lesson in order to correct his wrong doing.

We just do the praying, and Jesus will do the correcting.

Let us remember that when we are united in prayer, what we ask for will be granted to us.

And Jesus will also fulfill His awesome promise to us – and that is He will be there with us.