Ezekiel 18:25-28 / Philippians 2:1-11 / Matthew 21:28-32
Exams are a major part in the life of a student. Exam time is also probably the most religious time in the life of most students. One rather funny prayer before the exam the next day is this: As I lay me down to rest, I pray I pass tomorrow’s test. If I should die before I wake, that’s one less test I’ll have to take.
But exams can be so strange. Some statics have it that 80% of the exam questions are based on that one lecture you didn’t attend and on that one book you didn’t read. When that happens then it’s poetry time: Tick tock, mind block, pen stop, eye pop, full shock, jaw drop, time up, no luck.
But even when the exams are over, the anxiety comes next. Because there will be the results of the exams and that will be the time of reckoning.
Those who scored “A”s will be in the limelight and will get praises and rewards. But in the shadows are those at the end of the spectrum, those who are graded “F” or bluntly speaking, the failures.
In the exam grading scale, “F” stands for fail. In the social grading scale, “F” can also stand for forgotten. In the eyes of society, the failures are forgotten and there are not many who will feel sorry for them.
But we need to remember that failure is not the opposite of success; failure is part of success. In fact, failure is the mother of success, and we learn more from failure than from success.
One thing that can be learnt is that failure is not final, and failure can be good, as long as it doesn’t become a habit.
So if your child gets an “F” for the exam, “F” of course means fail, please go easy on the child. FAIL can also mean “First Attempt In Learning”.
After all, failure is just a bruise, not a tattoo. And failure is just an event in the life of the person; failure is not equal to the person.
Of course, this is not meant to encourage failure, but just to give encouragement in the event of failure. As it is said, if plan “A” doesn’t work, then the alphabet still has 25 more letters.
In the gospel, Jesus is highlighting a category of people who live in the shadows of society, and He pointed them out as the tax-collectors and prostitutes, in short, all those who are considered the failures of society.
Generally speaking, failures can be divided into two classes: those who thought about it but never did anything about it, and those who did it but never thought about it.
In a way, the tax-collectors and prostitutes, those so-called sinners, just did it and never thought about it. And since they had already done wrong, they stayed in the shadows of society and never thought much about it.
Until they heard John the Baptist preach about repentance and forgiveness, then they thought better of it, and as Jesus said of them, they are making their way into the kingdom of God. Yes, they have learnt from their failures and showing it in repentance.
They are like the first son in the parable, who refused to go and work in his father’s vineyard. But afterwards he thought better of it and went.
On the other hand, the second son thought about it, and he even said yes to his father, but then never did anything about it.
The teaching of Jesus in the gospel is about repentance, and that is expressed in that phrase “thought better of it”.
And that is also how we learn from failure. We need to think better of it, so as to learn from it, and to gain from it and even to make a success out of it.
And that is how we need to look at persons who have failed, to see failure as just an event in the person’s life and not failure as a person. We need to think better of it, so that the person can move on in life and become a “success” in life.
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 other 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 have to fend for him. Now that they are in their lonely old age, it is they who have to depend on him despite his inabilities and disabilities.
This story opens our minds to those whom society deem as failures or liabilities, people who are left in the shadows and forgotten, just like those tax-collectors and prostitutes in the gospel.
The gospel reminds us that when the message of repentance is preached to them, they responded more quickly and readily accepted the Good News of salvation.
In fact, despite their failures in almost every sense of the word, they showed that they thought better of it and did what God wanted of them.
When we can think better of those who failed, whether in academics or in life, and see how they are responding to the call of God, then we will be able to follow them in making the way to heaven.
Click the links under My Blog List to get to Chinese and English weekday homilies.
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Saturday, September 23, 2017
25th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 24.09.2017
Isaiah 55:6-9 / Philippians 1:20-24, 27 / Matthew 20:1-16
This time of the year can be termed as “exam time” because there is the PSLE, the N level exams, the O level exams and the A level exams.
Exam fever don’t just affect the students. Parents get stressed over their children taking the exams, grandparents will try to quell the anxiety of their grandchildren, and priests will be busy as parents bring their children to them to ask for a blessing for the exams. And after that the teachers will be perplexed over the marking of the exam papers.
Yes, exams are a big thing in Singapore because the results will indicate to the students what their future would be like.
The “A” students will have everything going for them – the best schools, scholarship offers, overseas exchange programmes, and the best of opportunities.
But those on the lower end, those who can barely make it or fail to make the mark, will have to make do with whatever that is left for them.
And as in the education system, so it is in the job market. People are paid according to their academic qualifications and their capabilities. So it can be said that people are paid for what they are worth.
So our minds are shaped and formed by market forces. More so in the job market, the better qualified we are, the more capable we are, the higher is our worth, and the higher will be our pay.
So in the world market, our worth is measured in dollars and cents. How much we are paid is an indication of how much we are worth in the eyes of the world.
And that’s why today’s gospel parable bothers us and disturbs us, because it rattles our minds and penetrates deep down into our hearts to see how we understand justice and fairness.
This gospel parable brings back childhood memories when our siblings and our classmates seem to get more than us: a bigger piece of cake, a bigger apple, nicer clothes. It’s just about someone else getting more and better.
Our response to that is: “It’s not fair and square.” As long as somebody’s square is bigger than ours, then it is not fair.
This gospel parable also makes us squirm and look away as it brings back memories of our adolescent and adult years, memories of how we were not selected and left out on the side-lines, of how we were looked over and not promoted.
In other words, it’s the experience of rejection and devaluation. And to make it even more hurting, we may be called “stupid” or “useless” or “hopeless”.
These are the memories that we want to hide away and lock up in the furthest corners of our heart.
But today’s gospel parable digs deep into our hearts and brings up those memories and makes us look at them again.
Because there are times when we know how it feels to be waiting to be hired. As the hour turns into days and into months, our self-worth is also draining away. We feel unwanted, rejected and dejected.
And we may not even have that 11th hour opportunity that the workers had. The end of the day may mean that there is nothing there for us. And so in our emptiness, we get envious and jealous at those who got hired, those who got what they wanted, those who seemed to have all the luck.
Yes, we get envious and jealous when there is nothing there for us. But we also get envious and jealous when there is something there for us.
In the gospel parable, those who were hired first thought that they would get more than those who were hired last. After all they had done a whole day’s work in all the heat.
But they got what was agreed upon. So even though they had something, they grumbled. Even though they had something, they were still envious and jealous of those who did only an hour’s work but got the same pay as them.
So what is the teaching in this rather disturbing gospel parable? One truth that is portrayed is that when it comes to God, we have to expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to His generosity towards the least, the last and the lowly.
When it comes to God’s generosity, we may remember that He made too much good wine at the wedding in Cana (more than 100 gallons); He multiplied too much bread for the crowd and there were 12 baskets of bread leftover; and of course He paid too much to those 11th hour workers.
And God is asking us this question: “Why be envious because I am generous?”
And envy and jealousy can eat into those who have as well as those who have not. Those who already have a day’s wage asked why those who did less got the same pay.
Those who were hired last, although it was not mentioned, could be thinking of why others got hired and not them.
But God’s ways are not our ways. And as high as the heaven is above the earth, God’s ways are above our ways and God’s thoughts are above our thoughts.
And so we are called to think like God and not like how they think in the market.
Generosity is the art of counting our blessings. Envy and jealousy is the art of counting other people’s blessings instead of our own.
So when we always have something negative to say about others, it reveals to us that we are secretly envious and jealous of others.
Envy and jealousy are like mental and spiritual cancers. The only way to treat it is to sincerely congratulate others for their blessings. Then our blessings will come.
Because God cannot be outdone in His generosity. When we begin to think like God and act in the ways of God, then God will certainly bless us and bless us generously.
This time of the year can be termed as “exam time” because there is the PSLE, the N level exams, the O level exams and the A level exams.
Exam fever don’t just affect the students. Parents get stressed over their children taking the exams, grandparents will try to quell the anxiety of their grandchildren, and priests will be busy as parents bring their children to them to ask for a blessing for the exams. And after that the teachers will be perplexed over the marking of the exam papers.
Yes, exams are a big thing in Singapore because the results will indicate to the students what their future would be like.
The “A” students will have everything going for them – the best schools, scholarship offers, overseas exchange programmes, and the best of opportunities.
But those on the lower end, those who can barely make it or fail to make the mark, will have to make do with whatever that is left for them.
And as in the education system, so it is in the job market. People are paid according to their academic qualifications and their capabilities. So it can be said that people are paid for what they are worth.
So our minds are shaped and formed by market forces. More so in the job market, the better qualified we are, the more capable we are, the higher is our worth, and the higher will be our pay.
So in the world market, our worth is measured in dollars and cents. How much we are paid is an indication of how much we are worth in the eyes of the world.
And that’s why today’s gospel parable bothers us and disturbs us, because it rattles our minds and penetrates deep down into our hearts to see how we understand justice and fairness.
This gospel parable brings back childhood memories when our siblings and our classmates seem to get more than us: a bigger piece of cake, a bigger apple, nicer clothes. It’s just about someone else getting more and better.
Our response to that is: “It’s not fair and square.” As long as somebody’s square is bigger than ours, then it is not fair.
This gospel parable also makes us squirm and look away as it brings back memories of our adolescent and adult years, memories of how we were not selected and left out on the side-lines, of how we were looked over and not promoted.
In other words, it’s the experience of rejection and devaluation. And to make it even more hurting, we may be called “stupid” or “useless” or “hopeless”.
These are the memories that we want to hide away and lock up in the furthest corners of our heart.
But today’s gospel parable digs deep into our hearts and brings up those memories and makes us look at them again.
Because there are times when we know how it feels to be waiting to be hired. As the hour turns into days and into months, our self-worth is also draining away. We feel unwanted, rejected and dejected.
And we may not even have that 11th hour opportunity that the workers had. The end of the day may mean that there is nothing there for us. And so in our emptiness, we get envious and jealous at those who got hired, those who got what they wanted, those who seemed to have all the luck.
Yes, we get envious and jealous when there is nothing there for us. But we also get envious and jealous when there is something there for us.
In the gospel parable, those who were hired first thought that they would get more than those who were hired last. After all they had done a whole day’s work in all the heat.
But they got what was agreed upon. So even though they had something, they grumbled. Even though they had something, they were still envious and jealous of those who did only an hour’s work but got the same pay as them.
So what is the teaching in this rather disturbing gospel parable? One truth that is portrayed is that when it comes to God, we have to expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to His generosity towards the least, the last and the lowly.
When it comes to God’s generosity, we may remember that He made too much good wine at the wedding in Cana (more than 100 gallons); He multiplied too much bread for the crowd and there were 12 baskets of bread leftover; and of course He paid too much to those 11th hour workers.
And God is asking us this question: “Why be envious because I am generous?”
And envy and jealousy can eat into those who have as well as those who have not. Those who already have a day’s wage asked why those who did less got the same pay.
Those who were hired last, although it was not mentioned, could be thinking of why others got hired and not them.
But God’s ways are not our ways. And as high as the heaven is above the earth, God’s ways are above our ways and God’s thoughts are above our thoughts.
And so we are called to think like God and not like how they think in the market.
Generosity is the art of counting our blessings. Envy and jealousy is the art of counting other people’s blessings instead of our own.
So when we always have something negative to say about others, it reveals to us that we are secretly envious and jealous of others.
Envy and jealousy are like mental and spiritual cancers. The only way to treat it is to sincerely congratulate others for their blessings. Then our blessings will come.
Because God cannot be outdone in His generosity. When we begin to think like God and act in the ways of God, then God will certainly bless us and bless us generously.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
24th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 17.09.2017
Ecclesiasticus 27:30 – 28:7 / Romans 14:7-9 / Matthew 18:21-35
In this parish, as well as in the other parishes, there is this regular occurrence. There will be individuals wandering into the premises and asking for money.
If they are asking for money in order to have some food for the day, then we are obligated to help them, for that is our Christian duty. And we will help them in their sustenance for a day or two, and we would also see if the SSVP can give them further assistance.
But more often than not, there are people who come to ask for money and they say it’s for their rent, or their medical bills or utility bills and they are asking for at least $100. And they will make promises to repay it back as soon as they have the money. In effect they are asking for a loan, which of course the church is unable to do so.
But on a personal level, we have the experience of people like family members, relatives, colleagues and friends coming to us with a sob-story and begging us to lend them some money for an urgent need, and the amount that they are asking is a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars!
And we also have the experience of being soft-hearted and we lend – a few hundred or a few thousand dollars – our hard-earned money. And we also have the experience that when we ask for our money back, we only get empty promises and excuses.
And those who borrowed money from us and have not repaid us, we will always remember them. (So if we want someone to remember us, just borrow money from them and don’t return it :) They will certainly remember us always, although not for a good reason :( )
In the gospel, Jesus told a parable that we can immediately understand, especially if we had lent people some money and they haven’t return it to us.
What the servant owed the king – 10 thousand talents – was an enormous amount and impossible for the servant to repay it.
The servant pleaded with the king – “Give me time and I will pay back the whole sum”. We too have heard this from those who borrowed money from us – “Give me some time and I will repay you”, and we wait and wait and wait.
In the parable the king had pity on that servant and wrote off that enormous debt. But the reality for us is that it is so difficult to write off a debt, especially if it is a large sum of money. It is like a knife that is stuck in our hearts.
But the gospel parable uses the imagery of a monetary debt to point to a spiritual debt. When others do wrong to us, how willing are we to forgive, especially when they don’t seem to deserve it.
There is this book “The Sunflower” written by a Nazi holocaust survivor, Simon Weisenthal. His pain was extremely intense: 85 members of his family died in the concentration camps.
In his book, he tells of this story that one day when he was in the concentration camp, a nurse came and told him to follow her. He was led to a make-shift hospital and into a very small room, which had a single bed and lying on the bed was a person almost completely wrapped in bandages.
It was obvious that this person was about to die soon. Simon was left alone with this person and then the dying person began to speak and he told his story.
He was a young man, 21 years-old, a member of the dreaded SS troops. He had been raised a Catholic but was swayed over to the Nazis and he joined the elite SS troops.
When he was in the eastern zone, he was given the assignment to deal with the Jews in the zone, which actually meant killing them by any means. This incident troubled the young SS soldier as his early faith formation rebelled against what he did. He grew careless and was distracted and during a battle, he was wounded to this state.
One of the things that were on his mind was that above all, he wanted forgiveness from a Jew. And so it happened that the nurse called in Simon Weisenthal, and there he was, listening to the young man’s story and heard his plea.
The dying young man said that he was not born a murderer and he didn’t want to die a murderer, and he begged Simon, on behalf of his people, for forgiveness. Simon Weisenthal says in his book that the only response he could give was to get up and leave the room without saying a word, without granting forgiveness.
He wrote that much later on, his non-response began to trouble him. Should he have granted forgiveness to that dying young man? He could think of many reasons not to, but he still cannot come to terms with his non-response to the pleading of the dying man. He concluded the story by asking the readers to put themselves into his shoes and ask themselves the question: What would I have done?
When people owe us money and they don’t pay up, or when they won’t pay up, it is painful. And whenever we think about it, the knife of resentment and anger twists in our hearts and it becomes more and more difficult to forgive them.
But when others do wrong to us, it can be more painful because the knife goes round and round in our hearts making a big hole in our hearts and all kindness and compassion are drained away.
The antagonist could be an abusive parent, an unfaithful spouse, a scheming sibling, a back-stabbing colleague, or even a gossip-mongering parishioner.
The hurt and the pain may not be so intense as that of Simon Weisenthal’s, but still it is a twisting cutting pain that hurts the heart and makes it so difficult to forgive.
But the 1st reading reminds us of this: Resentment and anger, these are foul things, and both are found in the sinner. Forgive your neighbour the hurt he does you, and when you pray, your sins will be forgiven. Jesus said likewise in the gospel: forgive each other from your heart.
Which makes us look at the other side of the coin. Have we been like that dying young soldier who took the wrong path and was careless and did all the wrong things?
Of course we can be obstinate and rationalize away our guilt, but one day we will have to come face to face with our sins, and then it will be our turn to plead for forgiveness.
For this, the 1st reading has this profound teaching: Remember the last things and stop hating, remember dissolution and death, and live by the commandments. Remember the commandments, and do not bear your neighbor ill-will; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook the offence.
Yes, let us remember that the gospel is about forgiveness. Just as Jesus forgives His enemies, we too must forgive others. Just as Jesus forgives, our sins are also forgiven.
And as we remember the last things, let us stop hating and start forgiving. And as we forgive those who trespass against us, the Lord will also forgive us our trespasses.
In this parish, as well as in the other parishes, there is this regular occurrence. There will be individuals wandering into the premises and asking for money.
If they are asking for money in order to have some food for the day, then we are obligated to help them, for that is our Christian duty. And we will help them in their sustenance for a day or two, and we would also see if the SSVP can give them further assistance.
But more often than not, there are people who come to ask for money and they say it’s for their rent, or their medical bills or utility bills and they are asking for at least $100. And they will make promises to repay it back as soon as they have the money. In effect they are asking for a loan, which of course the church is unable to do so.
But on a personal level, we have the experience of people like family members, relatives, colleagues and friends coming to us with a sob-story and begging us to lend them some money for an urgent need, and the amount that they are asking is a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars!
And we also have the experience of being soft-hearted and we lend – a few hundred or a few thousand dollars – our hard-earned money. And we also have the experience that when we ask for our money back, we only get empty promises and excuses.
And those who borrowed money from us and have not repaid us, we will always remember them. (So if we want someone to remember us, just borrow money from them and don’t return it :) They will certainly remember us always, although not for a good reason :( )
In the gospel, Jesus told a parable that we can immediately understand, especially if we had lent people some money and they haven’t return it to us.
What the servant owed the king – 10 thousand talents – was an enormous amount and impossible for the servant to repay it.
The servant pleaded with the king – “Give me time and I will pay back the whole sum”. We too have heard this from those who borrowed money from us – “Give me some time and I will repay you”, and we wait and wait and wait.
In the parable the king had pity on that servant and wrote off that enormous debt. But the reality for us is that it is so difficult to write off a debt, especially if it is a large sum of money. It is like a knife that is stuck in our hearts.
But the gospel parable uses the imagery of a monetary debt to point to a spiritual debt. When others do wrong to us, how willing are we to forgive, especially when they don’t seem to deserve it.
There is this book “The Sunflower” written by a Nazi holocaust survivor, Simon Weisenthal. His pain was extremely intense: 85 members of his family died in the concentration camps.
In his book, he tells of this story that one day when he was in the concentration camp, a nurse came and told him to follow her. He was led to a make-shift hospital and into a very small room, which had a single bed and lying on the bed was a person almost completely wrapped in bandages.
It was obvious that this person was about to die soon. Simon was left alone with this person and then the dying person began to speak and he told his story.
He was a young man, 21 years-old, a member of the dreaded SS troops. He had been raised a Catholic but was swayed over to the Nazis and he joined the elite SS troops.
When he was in the eastern zone, he was given the assignment to deal with the Jews in the zone, which actually meant killing them by any means. This incident troubled the young SS soldier as his early faith formation rebelled against what he did. He grew careless and was distracted and during a battle, he was wounded to this state.
One of the things that were on his mind was that above all, he wanted forgiveness from a Jew. And so it happened that the nurse called in Simon Weisenthal, and there he was, listening to the young man’s story and heard his plea.
The dying young man said that he was not born a murderer and he didn’t want to die a murderer, and he begged Simon, on behalf of his people, for forgiveness. Simon Weisenthal says in his book that the only response he could give was to get up and leave the room without saying a word, without granting forgiveness.
He wrote that much later on, his non-response began to trouble him. Should he have granted forgiveness to that dying young man? He could think of many reasons not to, but he still cannot come to terms with his non-response to the pleading of the dying man. He concluded the story by asking the readers to put themselves into his shoes and ask themselves the question: What would I have done?
When people owe us money and they don’t pay up, or when they won’t pay up, it is painful. And whenever we think about it, the knife of resentment and anger twists in our hearts and it becomes more and more difficult to forgive them.
But when others do wrong to us, it can be more painful because the knife goes round and round in our hearts making a big hole in our hearts and all kindness and compassion are drained away.
The antagonist could be an abusive parent, an unfaithful spouse, a scheming sibling, a back-stabbing colleague, or even a gossip-mongering parishioner.
The hurt and the pain may not be so intense as that of Simon Weisenthal’s, but still it is a twisting cutting pain that hurts the heart and makes it so difficult to forgive.
But the 1st reading reminds us of this: Resentment and anger, these are foul things, and both are found in the sinner. Forgive your neighbour the hurt he does you, and when you pray, your sins will be forgiven. Jesus said likewise in the gospel: forgive each other from your heart.
Which makes us look at the other side of the coin. Have we been like that dying young soldier who took the wrong path and was careless and did all the wrong things?
Of course we can be obstinate and rationalize away our guilt, but one day we will have to come face to face with our sins, and then it will be our turn to plead for forgiveness.
For this, the 1st reading has this profound teaching: Remember the last things and stop hating, remember dissolution and death, and live by the commandments. Remember the commandments, and do not bear your neighbor ill-will; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook the offence.
Yes, let us remember that the gospel is about forgiveness. Just as Jesus forgives His enemies, we too must forgive others. Just as Jesus forgives, our sins are also forgiven.
And as we remember the last things, let us stop hating and start forgiving. And as we forgive those who trespass against us, the Lord will also forgive us our trespasses.
Saturday, September 9, 2017
23rd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 10.09.2017
Ezekiel 33:7-9 / Romans 13:8-10 / Matthew 18:15-20
The ways we understand and perceive the world around us are through our senses. We have five traditional senses known as sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. These senses take the information from our environment and send it to our brain, which then processes the information and tells us how to respond.
The sense of sight develops the ability of visual recognition and develops more quickly than the rest of the other senses.
But from our earliest days, the sense of hearing develops our ability to communicate. That’s how we learn our mother tongue. That’s also how we develop the way we speak and our accent. And maybe that’s why we have two ears and one mouth, so as to listen twice as much as we speak.
So hearing is one of the body’s five senses, but listening is a skill that needs to be developed further. Because most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.
So even as we listen to someone talking to us, our brains are already formulating a reply even before the other person has stopped speaking.
And often, we are so eager to express our opinions that we interrupt the other person in mid-speech, which is quite rude, and at times the other person gets irritated and tells us off with “Can you let me finish what I am saying?” Well, we can let the other person finish what he needs to say, but it doesn’t matter much to us because we already have a reply ready and hence, we are not listening anymore.
That’s usually how an argument begins. It starts off as a discussion, and then into a debate and then when it gets fast and furious, it will dive into an argument where everybody is speaking (or shouting) and no one is listening.
What Jesus stated in the gospel is like a process for addressing a wrong-doing or conflict management: “If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
That’s a logical process that is applicable in addressing a wrong-doing or a resolving a conflict. But all that depends on one important factor – listening. That is also the keyword in that passage.
For any dialogue, or discussion or even a debate, listening to the other party is necessary, otherwise it will just become an argument which can even turn violent.
So is this just about addressing a wrong-doing or resolving a conflict? Maybe, but more than that, the teaching is at the last sentence of the paragraph, i.e. “if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.”
That is interesting because the gospel passage is taken from the gospel of Matthew, and Matthew as we know was a tax-collector before Jesus called him.
In the context of the gospel, a pagan is understood as one who doesn’t know God and a tax-collector is one who is concerned only with material gain.
So to treat a person as a pagan or as a tax-collector is to understand that the person does not know the voice of God and does not know how to listen to Him.
This weekend is “Catholic Education Sunday” and also “Catechetical Awareness Weekend”. Whether as teachers or as catechists, they teach children how to listen to God.
But the voice of God is not something so unfamiliar that we have to learn it through an academic process. Rather Catholic teachers and catechists help their students to listen to the voice of God within.
The word “catechism” at its core, is the word “echo”. God speaks to everyone, and His voice echoes in our hearts. We only need to know how to listen.
A son and his father were walking in the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountains: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?" He receives the answer: "Who are you?" Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!" He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, say something nice."
And so the son shouts to the mountains: "I like you!"
The voice answers: "I like you!"
Again the son shouts: "You are strong!"
The voice answers: "You are strong!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply an echo of our words and actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence. When your words are kind, the people you speak to will also be kind.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; Life gives you back everything you have given to it."
Catholic teachers and catechists are like the father. He does not impose his voice but he lets his son hear the echo of his own voice, and helped his son realize that the voice of God is heard in the kind words that he spoke.
But in this noisy world where people want to have their say and so many words are spoken, how do we listen to the voice of God?
That’s where prayer comes in. Jesus said, “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 where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.”
Before even embarking on addressing a wrong-doing or resolving a conflict, we must be able to pray with the other person first, otherwise nobody will be listening to anything that is spoken.
When we pray together, we listen to echoes of our own voices as well as the echo of the voice of God within us.
And the voice of God will never contradict the Word of God, for Jesus is the Word of God and where two or three gather in His name, He will be there.
That is His promise to us. Let us believe in His promise, and we will be able to listen to the voice of God.
The ways we understand and perceive the world around us are through our senses. We have five traditional senses known as sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. These senses take the information from our environment and send it to our brain, which then processes the information and tells us how to respond.
The sense of sight develops the ability of visual recognition and develops more quickly than the rest of the other senses.
But from our earliest days, the sense of hearing develops our ability to communicate. That’s how we learn our mother tongue. That’s also how we develop the way we speak and our accent. And maybe that’s why we have two ears and one mouth, so as to listen twice as much as we speak.
So hearing is one of the body’s five senses, but listening is a skill that needs to be developed further. Because most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.
So even as we listen to someone talking to us, our brains are already formulating a reply even before the other person has stopped speaking.
And often, we are so eager to express our opinions that we interrupt the other person in mid-speech, which is quite rude, and at times the other person gets irritated and tells us off with “Can you let me finish what I am saying?” Well, we can let the other person finish what he needs to say, but it doesn’t matter much to us because we already have a reply ready and hence, we are not listening anymore.
That’s usually how an argument begins. It starts off as a discussion, and then into a debate and then when it gets fast and furious, it will dive into an argument where everybody is speaking (or shouting) and no one is listening.
What Jesus stated in the gospel is like a process for addressing a wrong-doing or conflict management: “If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
That’s a logical process that is applicable in addressing a wrong-doing or a resolving a conflict. But all that depends on one important factor – listening. That is also the keyword in that passage.
For any dialogue, or discussion or even a debate, listening to the other party is necessary, otherwise it will just become an argument which can even turn violent.
So is this just about addressing a wrong-doing or resolving a conflict? Maybe, but more than that, the teaching is at the last sentence of the paragraph, i.e. “if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.”
That is interesting because the gospel passage is taken from the gospel of Matthew, and Matthew as we know was a tax-collector before Jesus called him.
In the context of the gospel, a pagan is understood as one who doesn’t know God and a tax-collector is one who is concerned only with material gain.
So to treat a person as a pagan or as a tax-collector is to understand that the person does not know the voice of God and does not know how to listen to Him.
This weekend is “Catholic Education Sunday” and also “Catechetical Awareness Weekend”. Whether as teachers or as catechists, they teach children how to listen to God.
But the voice of God is not something so unfamiliar that we have to learn it through an academic process. Rather Catholic teachers and catechists help their students to listen to the voice of God within.
The word “catechism” at its core, is the word “echo”. God speaks to everyone, and His voice echoes in our hearts. We only need to know how to listen.
A son and his father were walking in the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountains: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?" He receives the answer: "Who are you?" Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!" He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, say something nice."
And so the son shouts to the mountains: "I like you!"
The voice answers: "I like you!"
Again the son shouts: "You are strong!"
The voice answers: "You are strong!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply an echo of our words and actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence. When your words are kind, the people you speak to will also be kind.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; Life gives you back everything you have given to it."
Catholic teachers and catechists are like the father. He does not impose his voice but he lets his son hear the echo of his own voice, and helped his son realize that the voice of God is heard in the kind words that he spoke.
But in this noisy world where people want to have their say and so many words are spoken, how do we listen to the voice of God?
That’s where prayer comes in. Jesus said, “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 where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.”
Before even embarking on addressing a wrong-doing or resolving a conflict, we must be able to pray with the other person first, otherwise nobody will be listening to anything that is spoken.
When we pray together, we listen to echoes of our own voices as well as the echo of the voice of God within us.
And the voice of God will never contradict the Word of God, for Jesus is the Word of God and where two or three gather in His name, He will be there.
That is His promise to us. Let us believe in His promise, and we will be able to listen to the voice of God.
Saturday, September 2, 2017
22nd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 03.09.2017
Jeremiah 20:7-9 / Romans 12:1-2 / Matthew 16:21-27
Last week, the primary and the secondary schools celebrated Teachers Day. Officially, Teachers Day is on the first Friday of September. But because last Friday is a public holiday, the school holiday is on Thursday and so Teachers Day is celebrated on Wednesday. (sounds rather complex)
But whether it is on Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday, it doesn’t really matter to teachers. Because only Sunday is a teacher’s day of “rest” – rest of the laundry, rest of the housework, and mark the rest of the papers.
On Teachers Day, the teachers would get gifts from their students, and get all sorts of gifts. So what would be a meaningful gift for a teacher? A candle would be meaningful, because a good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.
It is said that teaching is a profession that teaches all other professions. But teaching is not just a profession or a job. Teaching is a pillar of society, and we acknowledge that teachers make up that pillar of society.
A rather funny way of looking at a secure profession is to be a history teacher, because in the future there is so much of it to teach.
Teaching children to count is also good. But teaching them what really counts is best. (Bob Talber)
So is all this a promotion of the teaching profession? Maybe yes, and yet maybe not really.
Yes, teachers are always needed and teaching is a demanding profession. But we may also recall that Jesus was often addressed as “Teacher” and indeed He is the Teacher, and He did acknowledged Himself as a teacher. Jesus Himself used the term when He said, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am.” (John 13:13).
In the gospel, we see Jesus showing what it means to be a teacher. He gave a teaching about being His disciples and taking up the cross. He also taught the values of life and what really counts in life.
He also showed His firmness as a teacher when He sharply reprimanded Peter about being an obstacle, because the way Peter thought was certainly not God’s ways.
Jesus was a teacher who taught with a difference and He taught with authority. Jesus was a teacher who wanted to make a difference in the lives of people as well as in our lives.
There is a story that at a dinner, the guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers, "Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.
To emphasize his point he said to another guest; "You’re a teacher, Mary. Be honest. What do you make?"
Mary, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?" She paused for a while, then she began.
"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a D student feel like a diamond that needs to be polished."
"I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for five minutes without an iPad, or Playstation or Xbox, or glued to their mobile phones."
She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table, and continued, "You want to know what I make?"
- "I make kids wonder."
- "I make them question."
- "I make them apologize and mean it."
- "I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions."
- "I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything."
- "I make them read, read, and read books that are good."
- "I make them show all their work in math. They use their God-given brains, not the man-made calculator."
- "I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe."
- "I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life."
Pausing one last time, Mary continued, "Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant. You wanted to know what I make. Well, I make a difference.”
"What do you make, Mr. CEO?" The CEO was stunned, and he was silent.
Good teachers want to make a difference in the lives of their students. They teach them good values and what really counts and really matters in life.
Good teachers follow the example of Jesus who came to seek out and to save what was lost and to make a difference in our lives.
Jesus taught us to think like God and not to think in the ways of the world. So like a candle that consumes itself to light the ways for others, we take up our cross to serve others and lead them to Jesus who will teach them about life.
In one way or another, we are all teachers. Teachers teach best not by words but by examples. As disciples of Jesus, we too teach best when we carry our crosses.
The cross carried with love will make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others. Jesus carried His Cross and with His Cross He made a difference in our lives.
It was on the cross that Jesus gave His greatest teaching. Let us also carry our cross and follow Jesus our Teacher. And let us also teach others how to follow Jesus.
Last week, the primary and the secondary schools celebrated Teachers Day. Officially, Teachers Day is on the first Friday of September. But because last Friday is a public holiday, the school holiday is on Thursday and so Teachers Day is celebrated on Wednesday. (sounds rather complex)
But whether it is on Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday, it doesn’t really matter to teachers. Because only Sunday is a teacher’s day of “rest” – rest of the laundry, rest of the housework, and mark the rest of the papers.
On Teachers Day, the teachers would get gifts from their students, and get all sorts of gifts. So what would be a meaningful gift for a teacher? A candle would be meaningful, because a good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.
It is said that teaching is a profession that teaches all other professions. But teaching is not just a profession or a job. Teaching is a pillar of society, and we acknowledge that teachers make up that pillar of society.
A rather funny way of looking at a secure profession is to be a history teacher, because in the future there is so much of it to teach.
Teaching children to count is also good. But teaching them what really counts is best. (Bob Talber)
So is all this a promotion of the teaching profession? Maybe yes, and yet maybe not really.
Yes, teachers are always needed and teaching is a demanding profession. But we may also recall that Jesus was often addressed as “Teacher” and indeed He is the Teacher, and He did acknowledged Himself as a teacher. Jesus Himself used the term when He said, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am.” (John 13:13).
In the gospel, we see Jesus showing what it means to be a teacher. He gave a teaching about being His disciples and taking up the cross. He also taught the values of life and what really counts in life.
He also showed His firmness as a teacher when He sharply reprimanded Peter about being an obstacle, because the way Peter thought was certainly not God’s ways.
Jesus was a teacher who taught with a difference and He taught with authority. Jesus was a teacher who wanted to make a difference in the lives of people as well as in our lives.
There is a story that at a dinner, the guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers, "Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.
To emphasize his point he said to another guest; "You’re a teacher, Mary. Be honest. What do you make?"
Mary, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?" She paused for a while, then she began.
"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a D student feel like a diamond that needs to be polished."
"I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for five minutes without an iPad, or Playstation or Xbox, or glued to their mobile phones."
She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table, and continued, "You want to know what I make?"
- "I make kids wonder."
- "I make them question."
- "I make them apologize and mean it."
- "I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions."
- "I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything."
- "I make them read, read, and read books that are good."
- "I make them show all their work in math. They use their God-given brains, not the man-made calculator."
- "I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe."
- "I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life."
Pausing one last time, Mary continued, "Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant. You wanted to know what I make. Well, I make a difference.”
"What do you make, Mr. CEO?" The CEO was stunned, and he was silent.
Good teachers want to make a difference in the lives of their students. They teach them good values and what really counts and really matters in life.
Good teachers follow the example of Jesus who came to seek out and to save what was lost and to make a difference in our lives.
Jesus taught us to think like God and not to think in the ways of the world. So like a candle that consumes itself to light the ways for others, we take up our cross to serve others and lead them to Jesus who will teach them about life.
In one way or another, we are all teachers. Teachers teach best not by words but by examples. As disciples of Jesus, we too teach best when we carry our crosses.
The cross carried with love will make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others. Jesus carried His Cross and with His Cross He made a difference in our lives.
It was on the cross that Jesus gave His greatest teaching. Let us also carry our cross and follow Jesus our Teacher. And let us also teach others how to follow Jesus.
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