Acts 12:1-11/ 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18/ Matthew 16:13-19
There is an epidemic going on and it’s capturing the headlines and resulting in lack of sleep and heavy eye-bags.
Of course, I am not talking about a serious disease. I am talking about the World Cup fever. It all started in Brazil on the 12th June, with all its thrills and spills.
And already some of the big boys of the game had been sent packing home.
And some jokes had been made about that. For example, what is the difference between a tea-bag and the England team? Answer: the tea-bag stays longer in the cup! : )
And of course there are some less scorching jokes like this one:
A man takes his seat at the World Cup Final. He looks to his left and notices that there is an empty seat between him and the next guy.
The man asks: Who would ever miss the World Cup Final? The other guy replied: That’s my wife’s seat. We have been to the last five World Cup Finals together, but sadly she passed away.
The man said: Oh I am so sorry to hear that. But couldn’t you get another member of the family, a friend or someone else to come with you?
The guy replied: No … they are all at the funeral! : 0
Today the Church celebrates the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the two great pillars of the Church.
We may think that these two saints are like two peas in a pod, and if we were to give names to a pair of twin boys, the obvious choice would be to name them Peter and Paul.
Peter and Paul may seem to give us an impression of unity, but in fact, they were more of an incompatibility.
They were more like oil and water, and their differences go deeper than that of liquid viscosity.
That fact is that initially, they would have wished the other to be dead, and they won’t even bother about attending the other’s funeral!
St. Paul, when he was Saul, was part of the mob that stoned Stephen, the first martyr, to death.
And following that, king Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church, as we heard in the 1st reading.
He beheaded James, the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the crowds, he targeted Peter and had him put into prison.
The Church then prayed fervently for Peter, and he was miraculously rescued from the prison by an angel.
By then Paul had become the No. 1 enemy of the Church as he relentlessly persecuted Christians and he even went as far as Damascus to capture Christians.
But it was there on that road to Damascus that something striking happened to him and then things changed drastically.
So initially, Paul was the hunter and Peter was the hunted; Paul was the persecutor and Peter the persecuted.
They were on opposite and opposing sides. Paul had the political power to carry out his persecution, but Peter had the spiritual appointment for his protection.
But even after Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, he and Peter did not immediately become friends, and they also did not see eye to eye on Church matters.
They were as different as oil and water and they even had their differences recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. And in Galatians 2:11-14, Paul even called Peter a hypocrite in his dealings with the Gentiles.
It was rather strange that Jesus would choose these two men who were far from perfect or even suitable to be the two pillars of His Church.
Yet, that also showed that the Church is both divine and human – that there is a spiritual force guiding and working through her human instruments.
Although in life, St. Peter and St. Paul had their differences and shortcomings, it was in death that they were united in a common goal and mission.
Both died in Rome as martyrs (Peter was crucified upside down and Paul was beheaded) and that showed that their lives were not for their own glory but for the glory of God.
This feast of Sts. Peter and Paul teaches us that despite the differences and failings of personalities and characters, the Church can still be united in a common goal and mission.
Even now in the Church, there are some who are conservatives and some who are liberals; some are traditional and some want to be modern; some want discipline and others want freedom.
Yes, the Church is like a mixture of oil and water, and yet we, like St. Peter and St. Paul, are called to rise above our differences just like oil floats above the water, and be united in a common goal and mission.
As we heard in the gospel, Jesus promised that the gates of the underworld can never hold out against the Church.
Yet, we also must be reminded that our differences must not give the opportunity to the underworld to tear us apart from within.
Rather, like St. Peter and St. Paul, let us be united in love for Jesus and for one another.
St. Peter and St. Paul showed that in their lives they loved Jesus and hence in love they also accepted the other even if they did not agree totally with the other.
Hence as they were united in life, so were they united in death, and now they are united in glory.
Likewise, let us be united in love, so that whether in life or in death, the gates of the underworld will never tear us apart.
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Saturday, June 28, 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Trinity Sunday, Year A, 15.06.2014
Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9/ 2 Cor 13:11-13/ Jn 3:16-18
Today we celebrate the feast of Trinity Sunday. Sounds like a heavy and serious kind of feast.
But not knowing how to start the homily seriously, I can only think of starting with a joke.
But I was warned not to use this joke unless the congregation is matured enough, and also they may not laugh.
But I will take the risk and see how. So here it goes.
Q. Why is the doctrine of the Trinity important?
A. Those who abandon it begin prayer with the words “To Whom it may concern.”
Psalm 2:4 states: “He who sits in the heavens laughs.” (NRSV). So it seems that God has a sense of humor but this is not the unanimous opinion of all theologians.
Well, if someone were to ask us – What or who is the Holy Trinity? How would we reply?
We will probably have recourse to some textbook answer like – The Holy Trinity is 3 persons, one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
After that we might not know what else to talk about, and we might also not be too sure what we are talking about.
Or we might just start reciting the Creed, an easy way out, but people will still not know what we are talking about.
Well, today’s feast is not about words, or description or definition.
The Holy Trinity is essentially a mystery. But that mystery is revealed – we know that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
But that mystery is revealed and yet it is also revealing. In other words, we know something about God, but yet not everything.
Today’s gospel gives us another revelation of the mystery of God. It’s a profound revelation and it is this :
God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
Now, do we know what that means essentially?
But before we start to give serious answers, let me share with you another joke.
After being married for 25 years and intending to make their silver anniversary a memorable one, the wife asked her husband to describe her, after being married for 25 years.
He looked at her slowly, and said – You’re A,B, C,D, E,F,G,H, … and I,J,K.
The wife was puzzled and so she asked – Now what does that mean?
So he said – Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot.
The wife smiled and beamed and said – Oh you are such a sweet darling. What about I,J,K?
He said – I’m Just Kidding!
Hope that the wife won’t ask for any more descriptions when it comes to their golden anniversary.
Well, the man was only one letter away from telling his wife what she meant to him.
From A to K, he just have to move on to L, and L would stand for “love”.
And that’s what the feast of the Holy Trinity is telling us.
That God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.
To have eternal life means to live in the Spirit of God’s love, which is the love of the Father for the Son, and the Son for the Father.
And what does that mean practically? The 2nd reading would put it as this – help one another, be united, live in peace.
Today is also Father’s Day, and we thank God for our fathers and the love they give to us.
Myself being a spiritual father to this spiritual family, I can say that I understand what a father feels for his family.
Fathers want to protect and provide for their family.
They may not show that kind of tender love which is associated with mothers, but fathers give that assuring presence of love.
As I was reflecting on the presence of the father in the family, a childhood memory came to mind.
There was a time when my father had to work the night shift, and at that time I was in my early primary school age.
So after dinner, my father would rest for a while, and then leave for work around 9pm.
I remembered that every time he left the door of the house, I had this sad feeling that I would really miss my papa, and I didn’t want him to go.
But yet, all I could say was “bye bye”.
I guess that to our fathers, we are not so emotionally expressive.
But I can certainly say that the presence of the father in the home brings about a sense of love and security.
So fathers may not be Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot.
But for them, we can say it’s I,J,K, and it’s not I’m Just Kidding.
But I,J,K as in I Just Know. Know what? I Just Know that my father loves me.
Yes, we just know that our fathers love us.
We call God our Father. We also know that God our Father loves us.
We also know that God will empower all fathers to be living reflections of His love for us.
With all the fathers present here, we give thanks to God.
And with all the fathers present here, we also want to proclaim that God is Trinity, and that God loves us eternally.
Today we celebrate the feast of Trinity Sunday. Sounds like a heavy and serious kind of feast.
But not knowing how to start the homily seriously, I can only think of starting with a joke.
But I was warned not to use this joke unless the congregation is matured enough, and also they may not laugh.
But I will take the risk and see how. So here it goes.
Q. Why is the doctrine of the Trinity important?
A. Those who abandon it begin prayer with the words “To Whom it may concern.”
Psalm 2:4 states: “He who sits in the heavens laughs.” (NRSV). So it seems that God has a sense of humor but this is not the unanimous opinion of all theologians.
Well, if someone were to ask us – What or who is the Holy Trinity? How would we reply?
We will probably have recourse to some textbook answer like – The Holy Trinity is 3 persons, one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
After that we might not know what else to talk about, and we might also not be too sure what we are talking about.
Or we might just start reciting the Creed, an easy way out, but people will still not know what we are talking about.
Well, today’s feast is not about words, or description or definition.
The Holy Trinity is essentially a mystery. But that mystery is revealed – we know that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
But that mystery is revealed and yet it is also revealing. In other words, we know something about God, but yet not everything.
Today’s gospel gives us another revelation of the mystery of God. It’s a profound revelation and it is this :
God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
Now, do we know what that means essentially?
But before we start to give serious answers, let me share with you another joke.
After being married for 25 years and intending to make their silver anniversary a memorable one, the wife asked her husband to describe her, after being married for 25 years.
He looked at her slowly, and said – You’re A,B, C,D, E,F,G,H, … and I,J,K.
The wife was puzzled and so she asked – Now what does that mean?
So he said – Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot.
The wife smiled and beamed and said – Oh you are such a sweet darling. What about I,J,K?
He said – I’m Just Kidding!
Hope that the wife won’t ask for any more descriptions when it comes to their golden anniversary.
Well, the man was only one letter away from telling his wife what she meant to him.
From A to K, he just have to move on to L, and L would stand for “love”.
And that’s what the feast of the Holy Trinity is telling us.
That God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.
To have eternal life means to live in the Spirit of God’s love, which is the love of the Father for the Son, and the Son for the Father.
And what does that mean practically? The 2nd reading would put it as this – help one another, be united, live in peace.
Today is also Father’s Day, and we thank God for our fathers and the love they give to us.
Myself being a spiritual father to this spiritual family, I can say that I understand what a father feels for his family.
Fathers want to protect and provide for their family.
They may not show that kind of tender love which is associated with mothers, but fathers give that assuring presence of love.
As I was reflecting on the presence of the father in the family, a childhood memory came to mind.
There was a time when my father had to work the night shift, and at that time I was in my early primary school age.
So after dinner, my father would rest for a while, and then leave for work around 9pm.
I remembered that every time he left the door of the house, I had this sad feeling that I would really miss my papa, and I didn’t want him to go.
But yet, all I could say was “bye bye”.
I guess that to our fathers, we are not so emotionally expressive.
But I can certainly say that the presence of the father in the home brings about a sense of love and security.
So fathers may not be Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot.
But for them, we can say it’s I,J,K, and it’s not I’m Just Kidding.
But I,J,K as in I Just Know. Know what? I Just Know that my father loves me.
Yes, we just know that our fathers love us.
We call God our Father. We also know that God our Father loves us.
We also know that God will empower all fathers to be living reflections of His love for us.
With all the fathers present here, we give thanks to God.
And with all the fathers present here, we also want to proclaim that God is Trinity, and that God loves us eternally.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Pentecost Sunday, 08.06.2014
Acts 2:1-11/ 1 Cor 12:3-7, 12-13/ Jn 20:19-23
Just a couple of days ago, there was an amazing as well as alarming discovery at a place that is quite near here.
A group of workers were resting against a tree near the Outram Park MRT Station.
They were also admiring its heart-shape stump. Then something else caught their attention.
Nestled in a crevice between two of the branches of the tree was a rather strange-looking object.
It was strange enough for the workers to alert the police, and that strange-looking object was later identified as a WWII hand grenade.
The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from the army was immediately activated and sent to the scene.
The team managed to remove the WWII relic from the tree and safely dispose of it several hours later.
Who would have thought that the interesting and amazing sight of a heart-shaped stump on a tree would lead to an alarming discovery of a WWII hand grenade?
So, for almost 70 years, the grenade was there between the branches while time just went by.
People would have walked past that tree and children might have played near that tree or even climbed its branches but it remained undiscovered until now.
And even through such a long time had passed, it was uncertain whether that grenade would explode or not and hence the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called in.
It is rather strange to think that a tree with a heart-shape stump would have a hand grenade between its branches.
This alarming discovery may give us some spiritual reflections about ourselves.
Our hearts are made pure and beautiful in order to hold the love of God.
Yet, lodged in the cracks and the dark corners of our hearts are our sins.
And while that WWII hand grenade had remained unexploded, our sins have caused explosions within ourselves, and the shrapnel of our sins have also caused hurt and harm others.
The disciples of Jesus would have known this well enough. When the sins in their hearts exploded, they betrayed and denied and deserted Jesus.
Their hearts were shattered and they gathered behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. Yes, fear has gripped and overwhelmed them.
And where fear is overwhelming, there is no peace of heart at all.
Hence, when the Risen Christ appeared to His fearful disciples in that room, His first words were: Peace be with you.
He came not to judge or condemn them. He came to bring them peace and heal them of the wounds caused by the explosion of their sins.
His healing peace brought about joy in their hearts and they were ready to receive the Holy Spirit when He breathed upon them the Spirit of forgiveness and healing.
Today, as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the peace that Jesus wants to give us.
It is a peace that brings about forgiveness and healing.
It is a peace that makes us realize that the Spirit is given to each of us in a particular way for a good purpose, as we heard in the 2nd reading.
Yes, the Spirit is sent into our hearts to diffuse and clear away the sinful explosives that are hidden in the cracks and corners of our hearts.
The Spirit is the powerful love of God that will turn our fear into fortitude.
It is with the Spirit that our worldly words will be turned into heavenly prayers.
It is with the Spirit that our darkness will be turned into light, and our falsehood into truth.
It is with the Spirit that we will bring order out of chaos and love out of hatred.
It is with the Spirit that we will be sent forth to clear out the sinful explosives in the hearts of others.
And just as Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into His disciples, we too must breathe in the Holy Spirit.
And with the breath of the Holy Spirit, let us speak words of peace that will bring about healing and forgiveness.
Our hearts are made for peace but there is always the presence of sinful explosives that can shatter our hearts and plunge us into the darkness of fear.
May the Holy Spirit guard and protect us as we proclaim and bear witness to the Good News of peace and forgiveness.
News and photos
Just a couple of days ago, there was an amazing as well as alarming discovery at a place that is quite near here.
A group of workers were resting against a tree near the Outram Park MRT Station.
They were also admiring its heart-shape stump. Then something else caught their attention.
Nestled in a crevice between two of the branches of the tree was a rather strange-looking object.
It was strange enough for the workers to alert the police, and that strange-looking object was later identified as a WWII hand grenade.
The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from the army was immediately activated and sent to the scene.
The team managed to remove the WWII relic from the tree and safely dispose of it several hours later.
Who would have thought that the interesting and amazing sight of a heart-shaped stump on a tree would lead to an alarming discovery of a WWII hand grenade?
So, for almost 70 years, the grenade was there between the branches while time just went by.
People would have walked past that tree and children might have played near that tree or even climbed its branches but it remained undiscovered until now.
And even through such a long time had passed, it was uncertain whether that grenade would explode or not and hence the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called in.
It is rather strange to think that a tree with a heart-shape stump would have a hand grenade between its branches.
This alarming discovery may give us some spiritual reflections about ourselves.
Our hearts are made pure and beautiful in order to hold the love of God.
Yet, lodged in the cracks and the dark corners of our hearts are our sins.
And while that WWII hand grenade had remained unexploded, our sins have caused explosions within ourselves, and the shrapnel of our sins have also caused hurt and harm others.
The disciples of Jesus would have known this well enough. When the sins in their hearts exploded, they betrayed and denied and deserted Jesus.
Their hearts were shattered and they gathered behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. Yes, fear has gripped and overwhelmed them.
And where fear is overwhelming, there is no peace of heart at all.
Hence, when the Risen Christ appeared to His fearful disciples in that room, His first words were: Peace be with you.
He came not to judge or condemn them. He came to bring them peace and heal them of the wounds caused by the explosion of their sins.
His healing peace brought about joy in their hearts and they were ready to receive the Holy Spirit when He breathed upon them the Spirit of forgiveness and healing.
Today, as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the peace that Jesus wants to give us.
It is a peace that brings about forgiveness and healing.
It is a peace that makes us realize that the Spirit is given to each of us in a particular way for a good purpose, as we heard in the 2nd reading.
Yes, the Spirit is sent into our hearts to diffuse and clear away the sinful explosives that are hidden in the cracks and corners of our hearts.
The Spirit is the powerful love of God that will turn our fear into fortitude.
It is with the Spirit that our worldly words will be turned into heavenly prayers.
It is with the Spirit that our darkness will be turned into light, and our falsehood into truth.
It is with the Spirit that we will bring order out of chaos and love out of hatred.
It is with the Spirit that we will be sent forth to clear out the sinful explosives in the hearts of others.
And just as Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into His disciples, we too must breathe in the Holy Spirit.
And with the breath of the Holy Spirit, let us speak words of peace that will bring about healing and forgiveness.
Our hearts are made for peace but there is always the presence of sinful explosives that can shatter our hearts and plunge us into the darkness of fear.
May the Holy Spirit guard and protect us as we proclaim and bear witness to the Good News of peace and forgiveness.
News and photos
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