2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B, 24.02.2018

Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 / Romans 8:31-34 / Mark 9:2-10

Although we are already in the season of Lent which is a time of penance and abstinence, it cannot be denied that this is also the festive season, and one of the delicacies that will appear on the table is “bak kwa”.

These bak kwa smell as good as they taste, and going at $50 a kilogram, and having to queue up for 6 hours or more just to get it, it is almost as precious as gold.

Bak kwa is usually made from pork, although it is difficult to say which part of the pig it comes from. But it doesn’t matter, as long as it is delicious, we won’t bother.

And we also won’t bother how the pig feels about it. They  can’t put up a fight anyway. (But if pigs can put up a fight, they will learn karate, so that they can give a pork chop).

But pigs can’t really put up a fight, and so they end up as ham and bacon and bak kwa. 

Pigs can’t fight but they surely can feel. When a piglet is taken away from its mother, there will be tears in the mother’s eyes and she will make a moaning sound, because she knows how the piglet will end up. Yes, pigs and other animals have feelings too, if we pay attention to their reactions.

If animals have feelings, then more so do human beings, and there is a vast vocabulary to express these human feelings and emotions.

But in the first reading, we don’t seem to hear about how Abraham felt when God told him, “Take your son, your only child Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you.”

The next thing we heard is that they arrived at the place, and Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son.

Abraham was a man of faith, but he certainly had feelings too. It was he who bargained with God as he tried to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And now he has to sacrifice his own son! How did he feel about it? But his obedience was prompt.

We would have guessed that he would be shocked and confused and angry. He would probably asked himself, “How come?” and “How can?” And along the way to the mountain, he would probably be tempted to turn back and delete God from his life totally.

And even as we listen, we will wonder why God made such a demanding sacrifice. More than a demanding sacrifice, it was a human sacrifice.

Feelings and emotions aside, Abraham knew it was God who called him to faith. It was in faith and with faith, that he obeyed. But as Abraham seized the knife to kill his son, he was stopped by an angel. 

So, in stopping Abraham from killing his son, God in effect, was putting a stop to human sacrifice. And in effect, God is declaring that the only sacrifice He wants is that of obedience.

But for us, obedience to the will of God is often subjected to our feelings and we question whether it is worth it or not.

But when obedience to God contradicts what we think is good for us, then we have to ask if we truly love God. Abraham loved his son. But what about his love for God then?

A story goes that a king assembled his ministers and handed the chief minister a glowing pearl and asked him how much it was worth. The minister replied that it was worth more gold then a hundred caravans could carry.

Then the king asked the minister to take a hammer and smashed it. The minister replied that he wouldn’t dare do such a thing. 

One by one, the king asked the ministers how valuable the pearl was and each would raise the value higher than the other. But when ordered to smash it, none of them would do it.

Then the king’s faithful servant came along and the king asked him how valuable the pearl was and he replied that it was more valuable than he could imagine.

Then the king ordered the servant to smash the pearl. Without hesitation, the servant took the hammer and smashed it into pieces.

The ministers were shocked and screamed at the servant and asked him why he did it. The servant replied, “What the king says is worth more than any pearl. I obey and honour the king, and not some coloured stone.”

With that, the ministers realized their true standing with the king and what the king thinks of their obedience.

Jesus is the Beloved Son of the Father. Yet, he learned obedience through His suffering and He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:8-9).

God did not demand for Jesus to shed His blood on the cross in sacrifice. It was the sin of mankind that demanded for His blood.

Yet, in shedding His blood, Jesus saved us once and for all from our sins, so that there should be no more shedding of blood, no more taking of revenge, no more payback, no more eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-tooth.

Jesus was obedient even onto death on the cross, so that we too can obey God.

Obedience to God will always produce benefits that far exceed the consequences of disobedience. But faith and obedience must come first then God can answer our prayers. We are obedient not because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see.

A person’s greatness is usually exemplified through simple acts of obedience, like Abraham. Where faith is the root, the obedience is the fruit.

In the Transfiguration, the voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him.”

Let us listen to Jesus, let us follow His obedience to God, because obedience to God is the pathway to the life that we really want to live.

1st Sunday of Lent, Year B, 18.02.2018

Genesis 9:8-15 / 1 Peter 33:18-22 / Mark 1:12-15
We have already begun the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and today is the 1st Sunday of Lent. But with the CNY beginning on Friday and spilling into the weekend, the Year of the Dog is barking with festive celebrations instead of fasting and penance.
Anyway we have already done our fasting on Wednesday, so we can do with a bit of feasting (more than a bit …)

By now we should know that according to the Chinese zodiac, the New Year has ushered in the Year of the Dog. So for those who born in the Year of the Dog, and for dog-lovers, let us see what the Bible has to say about dogs.

Dogs are frequently mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments. Dogs were used by the Hebrews as watchdogs for their houses (Isaiah 56:10), and for guarding their flocks of sheep (Job 30:1). These are domesticated dogs. 
But there were also then, as there are now, packs of semi-wild and wild dogs that wander about devouring dead animals and even dead bodies. So these kinds of dogs were considered unclean and they can be quite fierce.

In one gospel passage about the exchange between Jesus and the Canaanite woman, the word "dogs" are used.

In response to her pleas to drive off the devil from her daughter, He answered by saying, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." (Mt 15:26) In this instance Jesus was referring to the wild dogs.

But the woman replied, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." (Mt 15:27) Her reference was to the domesticated dogs or the pet dogs. And with that Jesus granted her wish.

So in the Bible, there are generally two categories of dogs -  the wild dogs, and the domesticated pet dogs which at times are considered “a man’s best friend”.

In the gospel, we heard that the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and He remained there for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. He was with the wild beasts and the angels looked after Him.

So during those 40 days in the wilderness of the desert, Jesus faced two dangers. One was the temptations of the devil and that challenged Him in the spiritual realm, as to test whether He will stand firm on the side of God or not.

The other danger was on the physical realm. With the wild beasts roaming around and maybe among them were some wild savage dogs, would He succumb to fear and run off to safety and give up His mission?

The temptations from the devil were subtle. In the other gospels, we hear of those temptations: turn stones to bread, to jump off the parapet of the Temple, to bow down to Satan. The depths of the Heart of Jesus was tested to see where He stood and who He was.

But while the temptations of the devil were subtle, the danger from the wild animals was real, because they can cause harm and injury.

St. Teresa of Avila once said: “I do not fear the devil. But I do fear his agents.” In other words, those agents of the devil are to be reckoned with because they are the physical weapons of the devil.

When sin entered the world, sin turned the world into a wild world. The peace of the Garden of Eden was broken and so were the relationships between God and man, and man and nature.

Jesus went into the wilderness to restore the brokenness and to reconcile man with God and man with nature. He fought off the devil’s temptations. He faced the wild animals, not to fight them but to tame them. And if there were any wild and savage dogs among them, then Jesus would also want to tame them and turn them into pet dogs.

It is said that when properly trained, a dog can be a man’s best friend. Now, listen to this twist: when properly trained, a man can be a dog’s best friend.

And indeed, the season of Lent is a season of grace and the Good News is that through repentance, this wild world can be made into the Kingdom of God.

The spiritual exercises of prayer, fasting and almsgiving are to help us to go back to the spiritual basics and to train us in the ways of God.

And here the humble pet dog can also show us a few things. (It is said that God loves dogs. Because “dog” is “God” spelled backwards. Maybe that’s why God is using the dog to show us a few things about life)

So what can the dog show us? For us who have pet dogs, we can immediately understand this:

1. Loyalty – a dog is naturally born with a sense of loyalty for its owner, and each dog displays this loyalty in its own unique way. And that reminds us that we are made to be faithful and loyal to God who is our Creator.

2. Compassion – no matter how sad or upset you are, a dog always knows how to give you love and comfort. It reminds us that God’s compassion for us is boundless.

3. Unconditional love – a dog loves with no strings attached. If that can be said of a dog, then what can we say about God’s love for us, especially when we look at the cross.

4. Selflessness – a dog's first focus is to provide you with its joy and it is not vain or selfish. If you show it love and kindness, it will be your ultimate selfless companion. But it also reminds us of what we are called to be for others.

5. Forgiveness – we humans have a hard time forgiving each other, we hold on to hurt and anger forever, but not a dog. He will forgive you for anything you do to him, even if you take it out on him. That is something we can learn from a dog.

Come to think of it, we are much more than dogs, because we are much more in the eyes of God.

Yet the humble dog can show us something of who we truly are. Of course we are not called to be like a dog, on the contrary, we are called to be like God.

And God will send His angels to help us just like how the angels looked after Jesus in the wilderness of the desert. Most angels have wings, but some may choose to have fur. 

So if you have a pet dog, then may you be the person that your dog thinks you are. 
If we don’t have a pet-dog, there is no need to go and get one. But let us remember many of the qualities that come so easily to a well-trained dog – loyalty, devotion, selflessness, love – seems to be so elusive to humans.

A well-trained dog can be a man’s best friend. But similarly a well-trained man can be a dog’s best friend. And a well-trained man can also be God’s best friend.

So let us go with Jesus into the spiritual wilderness and be trained by Him with prayer, fasting and almsgiving to fight temptation and to bring peace to a wild world.

6th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 11.02.2018

Leviticus 13:1-2, 45-46 / 1 Cor 10:31 – 11:1 / Mark 1:40-45
If looks don’t give an impression, or don’t give any impression, then there is no need for mirrors.

Certainly, good looks are important in so far as to give a good first impression.

And when it comes to good looks, it is more than just having nice clothes. It is about the hair and how to stop the receding hairline. It’s about the body and how to reduce the expanding waistline. It’s about the face and how to get rid of those stretch-lines.

And talking about the face, that’s what we usually look at in a photo, especially our face.

We rather not look at those photos in which we are not happy about how we look. But then there are no bad photos actually, because that’s how our faces look like sometimes; either it’s the wrong angle or the wrong pose.

But the fact is that many people complain about their looks, but almost none will complain about their brains, although the face and the brain are so close.

And more fundamentally, the Bible tells us that as much as man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart (1 Sam 16:7).

Yes, God looks at the heart, whereas we tend to be captivated by outward appearances.

So we may admire or envy those who look good and gain easy acceptance. But at the same time, we also feel sorry for those who look less than plain or ordinary. They are often overlooked and swept under the carpet.

But being plain or ordinary looking is certainly not as bad as repulsive- looking that people would want to avoid.

Such was the case of the leper in the gospel. How he contracted leprosy, we were not told. But the 1st reading tells us how the religious law at that time looks at lepers.

If a swelling or a scab or shiny spot appears on a man’s skin, a case of leprosy of the skin is to be suspected. Then comes the action to be taken – the leper must wear torn clothes, his hair disordered, must live apart and outside the camp, and go around crying out “Unclean, unclean…”

Regardless of whether it was contagious or not, the disease has rendered the leper to be physically unclean as well as spiritually unclean. That was why the leper was separated from his people, as well as forced to be separated from God.

For the leper, it was not so much the pain of leprosy that was eating away at him physically. It was the pain of separation and rejection that was eating into him spiritually.

As if the separation and rejection of his own people was not painful enough, he had to find out if God was also rejecting him. That was like the last straw that will break him.

Whatever he knew or believe about Jesus, the leper came to Him and pleaded on his knees, “If you want to, you can cure me.” It was really a life-or-death moment for the leper. It may sound more like a demand, but good manners may not be needed in a desperate matter.

Yes, Jesus felt sorry for him, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said, “Of course I want to! Be cured.”

To a desperate demand, Jesus responded with a demanding decision, “Of course I want to! Be cured.”

When Jesus looked at the leper, He was not looking at the disfigurement. Jesus looked beyond and into the leper’s heart, which was broken by separation and rejection, a heart disfigured by pain and rejection.

Jesus came to seek and save what was lost. He came for the sick, not the healthy. He came for the sinners, not the saints.

Jesus is looking at each one of us and what does He see? As we look at ourselves in the mirror, what do we see? It is not what we are looking at that really matters, but what we see.

Whatever or whoever we see in the mirror, maybe we can think about this: If the whole world was blind, how many people would we be able to impress?
If it is going by looks, then the answer is obvious.

We may not suffer from leprosy, but it hurts and it is painful when people give us dirty looks.

The pain and the hurt of the leprosy of rejection and separation eat into us.

That’s when we must turn to Jesus and plead, “If You want to, You can cure me.” And Jesus will respond, “Of course I want to! Be cured.”

And He stretched out His hands on the cross and died for us. By His wounds we are healed. Because Jesus came to take away our pain and He carried our hurts for us.

But we must have faith in Jesus that He wants to do that for us. We too must go down on our knees and plead with Him. But we must put our faith in Him.

Because pain and rejection look backward. Fear looks around. But faith always look forward. 

Yes, Jesus looks at us, He looks into us so that we can be healed, so that we can look forward with faith and proclaim the wonders that He has done for us. 

5th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 04.02.2018

Job 7:1-4, 6-7 / 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23 / Mark 1:29-39

Some names in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, are not that easy to pronounce. Some are tongue-twisters, while others seem to have at least two ways of pronunciation, e.g. the name of the prophet Isaiah.

But the name of the character in the 1st reading should be easy to pronounce. His name has only three letters –        J-O-B. So it’s pronounced as “job” as in “office-job”.

Now, about the character called Job in the 1st reading, what he said in the passage seems to be like a description of his life which sounds like some kind of lousy job: “Is not man’s life on earth nothing more than pressed service, his time no better than hired drudgery? Like the slave sighing for the shade, or the workman with no thought but his wages”.

That may somewhat make us think about our jobs. Do we love our jobs, or do we just need our jobs? Seems like we just need it more than we love it.

We can tell our boss to give us a raise because there are three companies after us. Well, that’s no lie, because the three companies are the PUB, HDB and Singtel. But they are after us for other reasons.

Someone else that has a similar name as Job is the late Steve Jobs. He has this to say: The only way to do a great job is to love what you do. 
Of course he can say that. He is Steve Jobs, and he did a great job with the iPad and the iPhone.

But we are no Steve Jobs. On the contrary, we may have no job satisfaction, no job security and no job suits us. So in short, it is “no job, no hope, no cash”.

And even if we get a new job, we may probably not like it any better, and so as we begin Monday, we long for Friday.

So Job said it quite right in the 1st reading – Life on earth is nothing more than pressed service, no better than hired drudgery, like a slave sighing for the shade.

And then at the end of that 1st reading, we say “Thanks be to God”. Seriously? But it is the Word of the Lord, so we better say “Thanks be to God”. Seriously!

So the 1st reading seems to say that life is like a lousy job. And we might want to chip in and say that life is not just like a lousy job; life is just lousy.

The pessimistic summary of life can be put into just three words – hard, suffering, pain. Yes, life is hard, there is suffering, there is pain.

In the gospel, Peter’s mother-in-law would initially agree with that. As she lay in bed with fever, she would be thinking about how hard life is, and now she is suffering from fever that weakened her and made her lie in bed.

But the fever could just be the symptom. There could probably be a fire burning within that is consuming all her joy and happiness in life. In other words, life had become like a lousy job, having to always give, give, give and being taken for granted, always having to be around the house to make sure things are provided for and yet not a word of thanks.

That could also be our complaint about life. As the fire burns and consumes within, we become dissatisfied about our jobs, unhappy about our family and relationships, unsure about the present and uncertain about the future. Yes, life has become like a lousy job.

But in the gospel, we hear that Jesus went to the mother-in-law, took her by the hand and helped her up. And the fever left her and she began to wait on them.

Interestingly, if it was the fever, we would think that Jesus would have laid His hand on her head to cure her fever. Yet, He took her hand. Seems like the fever is just a symptom. Seems like there is a fire burning within and Jesus came to heal that. So when Jesus took her by the hand, the fever left her.

Maybe there is also a fire burning within that makes us feel that life is like a lousy job. 

But just as Jesus cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another and cast out many demons, He also want to do the same for us.

Jesus came to confront our suffering and pain and to cast out the demons of selfishness, greed, pride, unfaithfulness and disobedience so that we will realise that life is not like a lousy job.

Some people have a job because they need it. But Jesus wants to take us by the hand so raise us to life so that we can love and serve.

The difference between a job and a loving life is that if we are doing it because no one else will, then it is just a job. But if we are doing it because of Jesus, then it is a service.

If we quit because someone criticized us, then it is a job. If we keep on serving, then it is love.

If we do it as long as it does not interfere with our other activities, then it is a job. But if we are committed to serving even if it means letting go of other things, then it is a life lived with love.

If we quit because no one thanked us or praised us, then it is a job. If we stick with it even though no one recognized our efforts, then our reward is in God’s blessings.

God calls us to a life of love and service. Let us not make it into a job.

But let us first stretch out our hand and let Jesus take us by the hand to lead us to that quiet place of prayer where He will heal us and drive away those demons and turn that consuming fire within into a flame of love and service.

Conversion begins by first being with God in prayer, and only then can we be of love and service to others.

God is calling us to repentance and conversion, so that He can give us a life to be lived in love and service.

Let us not turn our life into a job, and then make it into a lousy job.