Ecclesiasticus 3:2-6 / Colossians 3:12-21 / Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
As the year 2019 come to a close in a couple of days’ time, prominent news agencies have already made a review of what are the top news of the year, i.e. the most read and the most watched news.)
Certainly, there are much top news both in the international scene and on the local scene.
There are just so much news flooding the air waves and on our mobile screens every day, and the news come by the hour, and maybe even by the minute.
But if we were to take a moment and ask ourselves, what is the news that had an impact in our lives, we may have to think for a while.
Of course, we may have our own pick of what is the top news of 2019, but how a piece of news has an impact on us depends very much on one thing.
And that is how much we are affected by it and how it unites us closer to one another. In other words, the impact of a piece of news on a group of people, regardless of whether good or bad, depends on its unifying effect.
We the church, may remember certain events of 2019 that united us in solidarity.
We may remember that in April this year, there were two tragedies that happened. One was the raging fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. The other was the Sri Lanka church bombing.
Both events had an impact on us and although there is nothing much that we can do about it, in an emotional sense, it made us feel united as a family in the faith. It was like a family tragedy.
On this feast of the Holy Family, the gospel passage had the spotlight on Joseph.
The gospels have no quotes from him and he seems to be that silent father-figure whose actions spoke louder than words.
But if we were to ask Joseph, what were the events that had an impact on him and changed his life, he would have quite a list to share.
Firstly, after a dream in which he had a vision of an angel telling him what to do, he took Mary home to be his wife.
Then he and Mary had to go to Bethlehem for the census. It was there that Jesus was born and since there was no room, the infant Jesus was laid in a manger.
And then another dream, and he had to take Mary and the Child to flee to Egypt in order to escape from King Herod who wanted to kill the Child.
After Herod’s death, came another dream, and he brought Mary and Jesus back to Israel, but as there was still danger in Judaea, he brought them to Galilee and settled in a town called Nazareth.
Those were not just mere impactful events. Those were crisis moments and life-endangering moments. But those were moments that Joseph remembers. Those were also moments that he showed his true character and also brought the family together.
So today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They are called the “Holy Family” and not the “Happy Family”, or the “Lucky Family”, or “Healthy Family”.
They are the Holy Family because in dangerous crisis moments, they stayed together in faith and love and they gave us a model of what a family should be.
The top news of 2019 would probably not have anything about the family. The world-changing events do not seem to have anything to do with our families.
But it is said, and very profoundly so, that if you want to change the world, go back home and love your family (St Mother Teresa).
It is love that can change the world and it has to start with the family.
And usually it is in dangerous crisis moments that family love and unity is built, as the following story will show us.
It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.
The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together. They had quills, but the quills of each wounded the closest companion.
After a while, they decided to distance themselves, and they began to die, alone and frozen.
So they had to make a choice: Either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by their close relationships because the most important part was the heat that came from the others. With that, they were able to survive.
For a family to stay together there are two things that are necessary: pray together and to eat together.
That is what the Mass is about – as God’s family, we come to pray together and to partake of Holy Communion so that we can become like the Holy Family.
The Holy Family won’t be featured as the top news of 2019. Nor will the family that prays together and eats together and stays together make any waves in the news.
But it is not the news that changes the world. It is the simple and humble family that will change the world.
And the family can change the world by simply praying together, eating together and staying together.
Click the links under My Blog List to get to Chinese and English weekday homilies.
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Saturday, December 21, 2019
4th Sunday of Advent, Year A, 22.12.2019
Isaiah 7:10-14 / Romans 1:1-7 / Matthew 1:18-25
As we come to the last few couple of days before Christmas, our thoughts are on many things.
It may be about the presents we have prepared for our loved ones, the parties that we will be attending, the food that we will be eating, the weight that we will be gaining.
In our minds are many thoughts. But in our hearts, there is one longing, and it is that we want to be home for Christmas. As it is often said: Home is where the heart is.
And there is even a song that goes “I’ll be home for Christmas”.
Already quite a number of people have wished me “Merry Christmas” in advance because they will be going back to their own countries to be home for Christmas.
Anyway who doesn’t want to be home for Christmas. As the song goes: I’ll be home for Christmas. And for those who can’t be home for Christmas, then they can only dream about being home for Christmas.
But besides the time of Christmas, thoughts of home give us a warm and nice feeling.
Because home is where we feel secure and where we can be ourselves. Home is our refuge and our shelter from the cold hard world.
Home is private space and not open space. We don’t really welcome a stranger to our home, nor can we treat other people’s homes like ours, even though they may say “make yourselves at home” (say only).
The Christmas story is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and the gospel begins with this line “This is how Jesus Christ came to be born”.
But after that was an incredible story: Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but then she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph thought of divorcing Mary, and then an angel appeared in his dream and then Joseph woke up he did what the angel told him to do. It was really an incredible story.
But the most incredible thing in this is that Jesus, the Son of God, left His home in heaven to make His home in the immaculate womb of Mary, and He also needs a place to call home.
And so it was Joseph, the man of honour, after that dream in which the angel appeared to him, made that important decision of taking Mary to his home. And with that, Jesus, the “God-is-with-us”, is now at home with us.
Truly the Christmas story is a dramatic story about how the Son of God made His home with us.
There are many stories about being home for Christmas. But looking for a movie with that “home for Christmas” theme, what we will get is “Home Alone” and the two other sequels.
I accidentally came upon this movie although it is not a movie about being home for Christmas. The title of the movie is “The Way Home”. It is a 2002 Korean movie and we can watch that movie with English subtitles on the Internet.
The story is about a 7 year-old boy from the city whose mother had to be away to look for a job and so took him to live with his 78 year-old, mute but not deaf, grandmother who lived in a remote and rural village.
That 7 year-old boy came with his junk food and electronic toys and had not desired to stay with nor respect his grandmother, especially as her house has neither electricity nor running water.
Alone with his grandmother, the boy ignores her and calls her names and detested her.
When his Game Boy ran out of batteries, he pestered his grandmother for money to buy batteries, and when she couldn’t give him money, the boy caused havoc in the house.
One day the boy demands Kentucky Fried Chicken. The grandmother only understood “chicken” and so she took some melons from her little garden and trudges off to the market to buy a chicken. Bringing back a live chicken in the rain, she prepares a home-made boiled chicken instead of fried chicken. The boy sees the boiled chicken and got angry and threw it away.
The boy remains angry and confused by the unfamiliar environment and repeatedly rejects his grandmother’s attempts to appease him. But her unconditional love slowly touches his heart. One day, the boy gets up early and goes with his grandmother to the market where he sees how hard his grandmother persuades passers-by to buy her vegetables.
Eventually the boy begins to love his grandmother, but because she is unable to read or write, he makes some simple greeting cards, so that she has some letters from him. His depth of love for his grandmother is revealed when he has to leave and he bid his grandmother a tearful farewell.
The film closes with the grandmother continuing to live alone in the thatched-roof house but with the letters of love from her grandson.
The movie is not about Christmas, but as the title goes “The Way Home”, it is about how an arrogant young boy found his way home and it was his 78 year-old mute grandmother who showed him the way. It is a very touching movie, and we can watch as a family or alone.
It may make us think about how Jesus came to be with us and to make His home among us, but what He faced was rejection and persecution.
It may make us think about our family relationships. We may stay in the same house but is it a home where there is kindness and forgiveness, understanding and patience?
If home is where the heart is, then let charity and the spirit of Christmas begin at home.
We turn to Joseph, who gave us this courageous example of taking Mary to his home and thereby letting Jesus be part of his life.
May we also let Jesus make His home with us this Christmas.
As we come to the last few couple of days before Christmas, our thoughts are on many things.
It may be about the presents we have prepared for our loved ones, the parties that we will be attending, the food that we will be eating, the weight that we will be gaining.
In our minds are many thoughts. But in our hearts, there is one longing, and it is that we want to be home for Christmas. As it is often said: Home is where the heart is.
And there is even a song that goes “I’ll be home for Christmas”.
Already quite a number of people have wished me “Merry Christmas” in advance because they will be going back to their own countries to be home for Christmas.
Anyway who doesn’t want to be home for Christmas. As the song goes: I’ll be home for Christmas. And for those who can’t be home for Christmas, then they can only dream about being home for Christmas.
But besides the time of Christmas, thoughts of home give us a warm and nice feeling.
Because home is where we feel secure and where we can be ourselves. Home is our refuge and our shelter from the cold hard world.
Home is private space and not open space. We don’t really welcome a stranger to our home, nor can we treat other people’s homes like ours, even though they may say “make yourselves at home” (say only).
The Christmas story is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and the gospel begins with this line “This is how Jesus Christ came to be born”.
But after that was an incredible story: Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but then she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph thought of divorcing Mary, and then an angel appeared in his dream and then Joseph woke up he did what the angel told him to do. It was really an incredible story.
But the most incredible thing in this is that Jesus, the Son of God, left His home in heaven to make His home in the immaculate womb of Mary, and He also needs a place to call home.
And so it was Joseph, the man of honour, after that dream in which the angel appeared to him, made that important decision of taking Mary to his home. And with that, Jesus, the “God-is-with-us”, is now at home with us.
Truly the Christmas story is a dramatic story about how the Son of God made His home with us.
There are many stories about being home for Christmas. But looking for a movie with that “home for Christmas” theme, what we will get is “Home Alone” and the two other sequels.
I accidentally came upon this movie although it is not a movie about being home for Christmas. The title of the movie is “The Way Home”. It is a 2002 Korean movie and we can watch that movie with English subtitles on the Internet.
The story is about a 7 year-old boy from the city whose mother had to be away to look for a job and so took him to live with his 78 year-old, mute but not deaf, grandmother who lived in a remote and rural village.
That 7 year-old boy came with his junk food and electronic toys and had not desired to stay with nor respect his grandmother, especially as her house has neither electricity nor running water.
Alone with his grandmother, the boy ignores her and calls her names and detested her.
When his Game Boy ran out of batteries, he pestered his grandmother for money to buy batteries, and when she couldn’t give him money, the boy caused havoc in the house.
One day the boy demands Kentucky Fried Chicken. The grandmother only understood “chicken” and so she took some melons from her little garden and trudges off to the market to buy a chicken. Bringing back a live chicken in the rain, she prepares a home-made boiled chicken instead of fried chicken. The boy sees the boiled chicken and got angry and threw it away.
The boy remains angry and confused by the unfamiliar environment and repeatedly rejects his grandmother’s attempts to appease him. But her unconditional love slowly touches his heart. One day, the boy gets up early and goes with his grandmother to the market where he sees how hard his grandmother persuades passers-by to buy her vegetables.
Eventually the boy begins to love his grandmother, but because she is unable to read or write, he makes some simple greeting cards, so that she has some letters from him. His depth of love for his grandmother is revealed when he has to leave and he bid his grandmother a tearful farewell.
The film closes with the grandmother continuing to live alone in the thatched-roof house but with the letters of love from her grandson.
The movie is not about Christmas, but as the title goes “The Way Home”, it is about how an arrogant young boy found his way home and it was his 78 year-old mute grandmother who showed him the way. It is a very touching movie, and we can watch as a family or alone.
It may make us think about how Jesus came to be with us and to make His home among us, but what He faced was rejection and persecution.
It may make us think about our family relationships. We may stay in the same house but is it a home where there is kindness and forgiveness, understanding and patience?
If home is where the heart is, then let charity and the spirit of Christmas begin at home.
We turn to Joseph, who gave us this courageous example of taking Mary to his home and thereby letting Jesus be part of his life.
May we also let Jesus make His home with us this Christmas.
Saturday, December 14, 2019
3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A, 15.12.2019
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 / James 5:7-10 / Matthew 11:2-11
Life is like a cycle with its ups and downs. And if life is like a cycle, then nothing is stable in the sense that life is not a straight line.
Because if life is a straight line, then it may seem that there is no more life. So in the cycle of life we may find ourselves sometimes at the upper half and sometimes at the lower half.
So, one month ago, we remember our departed loved ones. This month we prepare for the celebration of birth and new life.
Only last month we were complaining how hot and dry it was, and one month later we are saying how cold and wet it is.
One month ago, the students were stressed out by their exams. And one month later, they are posting photos of places that they are having holidays.
So life is indeed like a cycle of ups and downs, and these cycles can be so quick, such that it can be said that what a difference a day makes, or what a difference a week makes, or what a difference a month makes.
And in the gospel, we can also see how quickly things can change.
Just last week, we heard of John the Baptist preaching and baptizing in the wide open spaces of the wilderness.
He was on fire as he called the people to repentance, spoke against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He was like thunder and lightning.
But in this week’s gospel, we see a very different picture of John the Baptist. Reduced to the shackles and darkness of his prison cell, he was disturbed by doubts.
Still he managed to contact his disciples and sent them to ask Jesus this question: Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?
John the Baptist had expected the one to come to be serious business. If he was thunder and lightning, then he expected the one to come to be like fire and brimstone.
He thought that the one who is to come would be like an axe that would chop down trees bearing rotten fruit and a winnowing fan that will gather the chaff and throw them into the fire that will never go out.
But in the darkness of the prison, he was disturbed and he doubted. So that Jesus, is he or is he not the one?
Maybe it was a question of expectations, and John the Baptist did not expect Jesus to be like that.
To that question of John the Baptist, Jesus did not give a direct answer. Rather, he replied with this: Go back and tell John what you hear and see – the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor. And happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.
That’s the same with us too. When people or situations go against our expectations, we too get disturbed.
We too need to see and hear so that we can understand the reality and not what we think or expect it to be.
A teenage boy and his father got into a train and the boy took the window seat and he seems to be enjoying the travel and the nature, as if he is seeing it for the first time.
Once the train started moving, the boy started shouting at what he was seeing outside the window.
“Dad, see these trees are moving to the back,” His father just gave a smile.
A young couple sitting nearby this boy looked at his childlike behaviour and started talking between themselves about that boy.
Suddenly, again the boy called his father with an excitement and said, “Dad, see the clouds are running with us.” Again the dad smiled and kept quiet.
The young couple couldn’t understand why this boy was talking like this, and so they asked his father who is sitting nearby, “Why don’t you take your son to a hospital to have a good check-up?”
The father gave a smile and replied, “We just came from the hospital.” And he also added that his son was blind from the birth, and he just got his eyes yesterday and this is the first time he is seeing the world. The young couple was stumped when they heard that.
So we may have our expectations in life. We may expect life to be quiet and comfortable, like the young couple in the train.
But when we get disturbed, let us see and hear what God is showing and telling us.
In the cycle of life, a dark disturbance comes before a bright revelation.
That is the cycle of life. So when we get disturbed, let us not fret and complain.
Because in the cycle of life, a disturbance comes before a revelation.
Let us see and let us hear with open hearts and the Good News will be revealed to us.
Life is like a cycle with its ups and downs. And if life is like a cycle, then nothing is stable in the sense that life is not a straight line.
Because if life is a straight line, then it may seem that there is no more life. So in the cycle of life we may find ourselves sometimes at the upper half and sometimes at the lower half.
So, one month ago, we remember our departed loved ones. This month we prepare for the celebration of birth and new life.
Only last month we were complaining how hot and dry it was, and one month later we are saying how cold and wet it is.
One month ago, the students were stressed out by their exams. And one month later, they are posting photos of places that they are having holidays.
So life is indeed like a cycle of ups and downs, and these cycles can be so quick, such that it can be said that what a difference a day makes, or what a difference a week makes, or what a difference a month makes.
And in the gospel, we can also see how quickly things can change.
Just last week, we heard of John the Baptist preaching and baptizing in the wide open spaces of the wilderness.
He was on fire as he called the people to repentance, spoke against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He was like thunder and lightning.
But in this week’s gospel, we see a very different picture of John the Baptist. Reduced to the shackles and darkness of his prison cell, he was disturbed by doubts.
Still he managed to contact his disciples and sent them to ask Jesus this question: Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?
John the Baptist had expected the one to come to be serious business. If he was thunder and lightning, then he expected the one to come to be like fire and brimstone.
He thought that the one who is to come would be like an axe that would chop down trees bearing rotten fruit and a winnowing fan that will gather the chaff and throw them into the fire that will never go out.
But in the darkness of the prison, he was disturbed and he doubted. So that Jesus, is he or is he not the one?
Maybe it was a question of expectations, and John the Baptist did not expect Jesus to be like that.
To that question of John the Baptist, Jesus did not give a direct answer. Rather, he replied with this: Go back and tell John what you hear and see – the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor. And happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.
That’s the same with us too. When people or situations go against our expectations, we too get disturbed.
We too need to see and hear so that we can understand the reality and not what we think or expect it to be.
A teenage boy and his father got into a train and the boy took the window seat and he seems to be enjoying the travel and the nature, as if he is seeing it for the first time.
Once the train started moving, the boy started shouting at what he was seeing outside the window.
“Dad, see these trees are moving to the back,” His father just gave a smile.
A young couple sitting nearby this boy looked at his childlike behaviour and started talking between themselves about that boy.
Suddenly, again the boy called his father with an excitement and said, “Dad, see the clouds are running with us.” Again the dad smiled and kept quiet.
The young couple couldn’t understand why this boy was talking like this, and so they asked his father who is sitting nearby, “Why don’t you take your son to a hospital to have a good check-up?”
The father gave a smile and replied, “We just came from the hospital.” And he also added that his son was blind from the birth, and he just got his eyes yesterday and this is the first time he is seeing the world. The young couple was stumped when they heard that.
So we may have our expectations in life. We may expect life to be quiet and comfortable, like the young couple in the train.
But when we get disturbed, let us see and hear what God is showing and telling us.
In the cycle of life, a dark disturbance comes before a bright revelation.
That is the cycle of life. So when we get disturbed, let us not fret and complain.
Because in the cycle of life, a disturbance comes before a revelation.
Let us see and let us hear with open hearts and the Good News will be revealed to us.
Saturday, December 7, 2019
2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A 08.12.19
Isaiah 11:1-10 / Romans 15:4-9 / Matthew 3:1-12
This time of the year is often called “Christmas Shopping” time. And the advertisements on all media platforms are making us go to the shopping malls (or online shopping) to get something.
But if it is Christmas shopping here, then in other places, there is what is called “Christmas Chopping”.
Because in countries where there are evergreens like the fir and pine trees, there is “Christmas Chopping” as these trees are chopped and exported all over the world to those who want a real tree for Christmas.
So even in Singapore, we can get a real tree for Christmas if we want to, although it is a chopped down one.
Of course, a real tree is somehow more “credible” than a fake tree. A real tree has a nice scent and real look, whereas a fake tree is plastic and with tinsel and fake snow.
There is one person who is rather interested in trees, regardless of whether they are real or fake.
He also usually comes around this time of the year. But we won’t find him in the media advertisements nor will he appear in our Christmas decorations or even in the Nativity scene.
So obviously, we are not talking about Santa Claus or some celebrity. He looks like a misfit for the season, wearing a garment made of camel hair and a rough leather belt round his waist.
He does not eat turkey and ham, but locust and wild honey. He does not say “Season’s greetings’ but “Repent!” He is such an odd figure for this season.
But needing no introduction, and with serious business, is John the Baptist. He is an uncomfortable figure in the midst of the festive mood and decorations.
John the Baptist looks at our Christmas trees, whether real or fake, and then he says: Any tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
And we know what he is talking about – the trees of our lives, and whether we are bearing real good fruit, or bad rotten fruit.
And with that, we will understand his message about repentance in these days of Advent. Because without repentance, there can be no real good fruit.
Without repentance during Advent, our Christmas is going to be plastic and tinsel.
As we listen to the call for repentance, let us bring before Jesus the trees of our lives and to let Jesus cut off all that is rotten and bad, so that we can truly realise what is real and good.
There is this story that once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up.
The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: “I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I’ll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!”
The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean, and said, “I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I’ll be the strongest ship in the world!”
The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. “I don’t want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they’ll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world.”
Years passed, and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain.
The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, “This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me.” With a swing of his axe, the first tree fell.
“Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest. I shall hold wonderful treasure!” the first tree said.
The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, “This tree is strong. It is perfect for me.” With a swing of his axe, the second tree fell.
“Now I shall sail mighty waters!” thought the second tree. “I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!”
The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven.
But the woodcutter never even looked up. “Any kind of tree will do for me,” he muttered. With a swing of his axe, the third tree fell.
The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter’s shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feedbox for animals.
The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, nor with treasure. She was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.
The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead, the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail on an ocean, or even a river; instead, she was taken to a little lake.
The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard.
“What happened?” the once tall tree wondered. “All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God...”
Many, many days and night passed. The three trees had forgotten their dreams.
But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feedbox.
“We wish we could make a cradle for him,” the parents whispered to each other, but they also said, “But this manger is beautiful.”
And suddenly the first tree knew she was holding the greatest treasure in the world.
One evening a tired traveller and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveller fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake.
Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through with the wind and the rain.
The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, “Peace.” The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun.
And suddenly the second tree knew she was carrying the king of heaven and earth.
One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man’s hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel.
But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth tremble with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God’s love had changed everything.
It had made the third tree strong.
And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God.
That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.
So the next time we feel angry and disappointed because we didn’t get what we want, let us stand firm in faith and believe that God has something better to give us.
But we must also let Jesus cut off what is rotten and bad in our lives, so that we can bear real good fruit, fruit that we offer to Jesus and to others.
This time of the year is often called “Christmas Shopping” time. And the advertisements on all media platforms are making us go to the shopping malls (or online shopping) to get something.
But if it is Christmas shopping here, then in other places, there is what is called “Christmas Chopping”.
Because in countries where there are evergreens like the fir and pine trees, there is “Christmas Chopping” as these trees are chopped and exported all over the world to those who want a real tree for Christmas.
So even in Singapore, we can get a real tree for Christmas if we want to, although it is a chopped down one.
Of course, a real tree is somehow more “credible” than a fake tree. A real tree has a nice scent and real look, whereas a fake tree is plastic and with tinsel and fake snow.
There is one person who is rather interested in trees, regardless of whether they are real or fake.
He also usually comes around this time of the year. But we won’t find him in the media advertisements nor will he appear in our Christmas decorations or even in the Nativity scene.
So obviously, we are not talking about Santa Claus or some celebrity. He looks like a misfit for the season, wearing a garment made of camel hair and a rough leather belt round his waist.
He does not eat turkey and ham, but locust and wild honey. He does not say “Season’s greetings’ but “Repent!” He is such an odd figure for this season.
But needing no introduction, and with serious business, is John the Baptist. He is an uncomfortable figure in the midst of the festive mood and decorations.
John the Baptist looks at our Christmas trees, whether real or fake, and then he says: Any tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
And we know what he is talking about – the trees of our lives, and whether we are bearing real good fruit, or bad rotten fruit.
And with that, we will understand his message about repentance in these days of Advent. Because without repentance, there can be no real good fruit.
Without repentance during Advent, our Christmas is going to be plastic and tinsel.
As we listen to the call for repentance, let us bring before Jesus the trees of our lives and to let Jesus cut off all that is rotten and bad, so that we can truly realise what is real and good.
There is this story that once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up.
The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: “I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I’ll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!”
The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean, and said, “I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I’ll be the strongest ship in the world!”
The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. “I don’t want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they’ll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world.”
Years passed, and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain.
The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, “This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me.” With a swing of his axe, the first tree fell.
“Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest. I shall hold wonderful treasure!” the first tree said.
The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, “This tree is strong. It is perfect for me.” With a swing of his axe, the second tree fell.
“Now I shall sail mighty waters!” thought the second tree. “I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!”
The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven.
But the woodcutter never even looked up. “Any kind of tree will do for me,” he muttered. With a swing of his axe, the third tree fell.
The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter’s shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feedbox for animals.
The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, nor with treasure. She was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.
The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead, the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail on an ocean, or even a river; instead, she was taken to a little lake.
The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard.
“What happened?” the once tall tree wondered. “All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God...”
Many, many days and night passed. The three trees had forgotten their dreams.
But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feedbox.
“We wish we could make a cradle for him,” the parents whispered to each other, but they also said, “But this manger is beautiful.”
And suddenly the first tree knew she was holding the greatest treasure in the world.
One evening a tired traveller and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveller fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake.
Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through with the wind and the rain.
The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, “Peace.” The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun.
And suddenly the second tree knew she was carrying the king of heaven and earth.
One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man’s hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel.
But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth tremble with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God’s love had changed everything.
It had made the third tree strong.
And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God.
That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.
So the next time we feel angry and disappointed because we didn’t get what we want, let us stand firm in faith and believe that God has something better to give us.
But we must also let Jesus cut off what is rotten and bad in our lives, so that we can bear real good fruit, fruit that we offer to Jesus and to others.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
1st Sunday of Advent, Year A, 01.12.2019
Isaiah 2:1-5 / Romans 13:11-14 / Matthew 24:37-44
We have come to the first day of the month of December. This is the first day of the last month of the year. And looking at the next 31 days, we can expect a busy busy time ahead.
But first things first, we need to look for those Christmas decorations. It’s only 25 days to Christmas and we better get started with the decorations.
But things are not going to be so straightforward and we have to be prepared for that.
Even as we put up that outdoor Nativity scene and the Christmas tree, there were some issues. Some lights didn’t work, some parts don’t fit, and some things were missing.
So when we are putting up the decorations at home or in office, and if we find the top half of the Christmas tree and the bottom half is missing, then we just have to settle for a miniature Christmas tree.
And if we find the bottom half but the top half is missing or have a problem, then maybe we have to settle for a Christmas bush. We can still have the lights on it and do something creative out of it.
Whatever it might be, the age-old wisdom saying tells us to “expect the unexpected”.
Yes, we have to expect the unexpected, not just in putting up Christmas decorations, but expect the unexpected as we put up our lives expectations.
Certainly we have expectations in life. We expect to have a white and bright Christmas, our children to do well in school, to get a big fat year-end bonus, and all in all we expect to have a good life.
But will that be so? Are we prepared to expect the unexpected?
And are we listening to what Jesus is saying in the gospel, that we are to stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that we do not expect?
And Jesus makes us recall the story of Noah. Before the Flood, people were eating and drinking, taking wives and husbands, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark and they suspected nothing, till the Flood came and swept them all away.
Added to that is also the image of a burglar in the night. These are uncomfortable and disturbing images. That is not what we expect to hear as we begin this festive and holiday month of December.
But that is not bad news as we might be inclined to think. In telling us to stand ready and to expect the unexpected, and to look and think deeper about the things around us, Jesus is telling us this:
That in preparing to expect the unexpected, we can be open to the God of surprises, the God of joyful surprises.
One of the decorative plants for the coming festive season is the Poinsettia. The plant’s colours of red and green make it a pretty decorative plant for Christmas.
There is a story behind the popularity of this plant for this season.
There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give to the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked to the church sadly, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.
He said, “Pepita, I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves Jesus will make Him happy."
Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus.
As she walked through the church to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the Nativity scene.
Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red colours, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flowers of the Holy Night'.
The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes seen as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent His purity.
So as we hear this story, maybe we are expecting to hear of a miracle, a happy ending, and indeed it was a happy ending. So it was up to our expectations. But is there anything that was unexpected?
The poinsettia is actually a weed that grows in the ditches and wild places of South America and Mexico. Because this lowly, common plant became so striking around Christmas each year it has been used to celebrate the holiday in South America for centuries.
The poinsettia is well-known not for its flowers but for its brilliantly colored leaves. The flowers themselves are “unremarkable”, but the top-most leaves change to colours of red, pink, coral or white as the days get darker and shorter.
And that is rather unexpected isn’t it? So it is not so much the flowers, which usually get the attention, but rather it is the leaves that are attractive.
And that is the pleasant surprise, because not only a lowly weed was elevated to such a high status, it is not so much the flowers but the leaves that catch the attention.
So as we begin the season of Advent, let us find time to be still and to be quiet, so that we can be prepared for the unexpected pleasant surprises that Jesus wants to give us.
It is these unexpected pleasant surprises, like how the poinsettia leaves turn from green to red, that we can believe that swords will be turn into ploughshares, spears into sickles, the profane into the profound, the secular into the sacred, as we begin our Advent preparation.
We have come to the first day of the month of December. This is the first day of the last month of the year. And looking at the next 31 days, we can expect a busy busy time ahead.
But first things first, we need to look for those Christmas decorations. It’s only 25 days to Christmas and we better get started with the decorations.
But things are not going to be so straightforward and we have to be prepared for that.
Even as we put up that outdoor Nativity scene and the Christmas tree, there were some issues. Some lights didn’t work, some parts don’t fit, and some things were missing.
So when we are putting up the decorations at home or in office, and if we find the top half of the Christmas tree and the bottom half is missing, then we just have to settle for a miniature Christmas tree.
And if we find the bottom half but the top half is missing or have a problem, then maybe we have to settle for a Christmas bush. We can still have the lights on it and do something creative out of it.
Whatever it might be, the age-old wisdom saying tells us to “expect the unexpected”.
Yes, we have to expect the unexpected, not just in putting up Christmas decorations, but expect the unexpected as we put up our lives expectations.
Certainly we have expectations in life. We expect to have a white and bright Christmas, our children to do well in school, to get a big fat year-end bonus, and all in all we expect to have a good life.
But will that be so? Are we prepared to expect the unexpected?
And are we listening to what Jesus is saying in the gospel, that we are to stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that we do not expect?
And Jesus makes us recall the story of Noah. Before the Flood, people were eating and drinking, taking wives and husbands, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark and they suspected nothing, till the Flood came and swept them all away.
Added to that is also the image of a burglar in the night. These are uncomfortable and disturbing images. That is not what we expect to hear as we begin this festive and holiday month of December.
But that is not bad news as we might be inclined to think. In telling us to stand ready and to expect the unexpected, and to look and think deeper about the things around us, Jesus is telling us this:
That in preparing to expect the unexpected, we can be open to the God of surprises, the God of joyful surprises.
One of the decorative plants for the coming festive season is the Poinsettia. The plant’s colours of red and green make it a pretty decorative plant for Christmas.
There is a story behind the popularity of this plant for this season.
There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give to the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked to the church sadly, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.
He said, “Pepita, I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves Jesus will make Him happy."
Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus.
As she walked through the church to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the Nativity scene.
Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red colours, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flowers of the Holy Night'.
The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes seen as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent His purity.
So as we hear this story, maybe we are expecting to hear of a miracle, a happy ending, and indeed it was a happy ending. So it was up to our expectations. But is there anything that was unexpected?
The poinsettia is actually a weed that grows in the ditches and wild places of South America and Mexico. Because this lowly, common plant became so striking around Christmas each year it has been used to celebrate the holiday in South America for centuries.
The poinsettia is well-known not for its flowers but for its brilliantly colored leaves. The flowers themselves are “unremarkable”, but the top-most leaves change to colours of red, pink, coral or white as the days get darker and shorter.
And that is rather unexpected isn’t it? So it is not so much the flowers, which usually get the attention, but rather it is the leaves that are attractive.
And that is the pleasant surprise, because not only a lowly weed was elevated to such a high status, it is not so much the flowers but the leaves that catch the attention.
So as we begin the season of Advent, let us find time to be still and to be quiet, so that we can be prepared for the unexpected pleasant surprises that Jesus wants to give us.
It is these unexpected pleasant surprises, like how the poinsettia leaves turn from green to red, that we can believe that swords will be turn into ploughshares, spears into sickles, the profane into the profound, the secular into the sacred, as we begin our Advent preparation.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Christ the King, Year C, 24.11.2019
2 Samuel 5:1-3 / Colossians 1:11-20 / Luke 23:35-43
The brain is without doubt one of the most important organs in the human being. Not just for human beings, but for most creatures as well.
But as much as the brain is an important organ in a human person, it does not mean that men and women think alike.
We should know by now that men and women have different thoughts about the same thing. They may be looking for a car, and men will look at the engine and the techy stuff. The women on the other hand will look at the colour, the shape and the feel of the seats, etc.
So men’s thoughts are certainly different from women’s thoughts. And also men’s memory is certainly different from women’s memory.
It is said that women always worry about the things that men forget, and men always worry about the things that women remember. (Albert Einstein).
Oh yes, men tend to forget about birthdays (but not their own), wedding anniversaries, their children’s age and other important dates and events.
Women on the other hand, remember things for even as long as 10, 20, 30 or 40 years ago.
An elderly gentleman was having dinner with an elderly couple, and when the wife went to the kitchen, he asked his friend, “Even after being married for 70 years, you still call your wife ‘honey’, ‘sweetheart’, ‘darling’. What’s the secret?”
His friend replied, “To tell you the truth, I forgot her name about 10 years ago, and I am too scared to ask her!”
Yes, men forget too many things, and women remember too many things.
But what about Jesus then? He is God but He is also a man. So does He forget a lot of things, like other men do?
But since Jesus is God, and God created women, as well as their brains and memories, does He remember a lot of things like women do?
Whatever it might be, we can say that Jesus chooses what to remember and what not to remember.
Jesus chooses not to remember our sins when we ask Him for forgiveness. There is this story that a religious nun told a priest about her visions and conversations with Jesus. So the priest said to her, “The next time when Jesus appears to you, ask Him what was my greatest sin.”
A week later, the nun came to see the priest again, and so he asked her, “Did you ask Jesus what was my greatest sin?” The nun replied, “Oh yes, I did ask Jesus, and He told me that He does not remember it because He forgave you that sin.”
That was a smart answer. But that is also the truth. Jesus does not remember our sins whenever we ask for forgiveness.
And that is one thing that we must believe about Jesus the King of mercy and forgiveness. And when we say that we forgive, we are not expected to forget, but at the same time, we choose not to remember the pain and the hurt. When we choose not to remember that, then healing can begin.
So Jesus chooses not to remember our sins because He wants to forgive us and heal us with His mercy.
But Jesus also remembers. He remembers those who turn to Him to ask for mercy and forgiveness.
In the gospel, the good thief defended the innocence of Jesus. And he also made this astonishing request: Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.
It was an astonishing request because the inscription on the cross that read “This is the King of the Jews” was meant to mock Jesus.
But the good thief not only defended the innocence of Jesus, but recognised Him as a King when he said: Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.
And Jesus replied with: Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.
The good thief had done wrong, and he admitted it, but Jesus chose not to remember his sins. Rather, He chose to remember His promise to that good thief to bring him to paradise.
The good thief implored Jesus to remember him, and Jesus did.
The good thief actually taught us how to pray to Jesus, by asking Him to remember.
Jesus, the King of love and mercy will remember us when we ask Him to.
Jesus will not want to remember us for our sins. But He will remember us when we turn to Him with a simple prayer like how the good thief prayed: Jesus, remember me, when You come into Your kingdom.
The brain is without doubt one of the most important organs in the human being. Not just for human beings, but for most creatures as well.
But as much as the brain is an important organ in a human person, it does not mean that men and women think alike.
We should know by now that men and women have different thoughts about the same thing. They may be looking for a car, and men will look at the engine and the techy stuff. The women on the other hand will look at the colour, the shape and the feel of the seats, etc.
So men’s thoughts are certainly different from women’s thoughts. And also men’s memory is certainly different from women’s memory.
It is said that women always worry about the things that men forget, and men always worry about the things that women remember. (Albert Einstein).
Oh yes, men tend to forget about birthdays (but not their own), wedding anniversaries, their children’s age and other important dates and events.
Women on the other hand, remember things for even as long as 10, 20, 30 or 40 years ago.
An elderly gentleman was having dinner with an elderly couple, and when the wife went to the kitchen, he asked his friend, “Even after being married for 70 years, you still call your wife ‘honey’, ‘sweetheart’, ‘darling’. What’s the secret?”
His friend replied, “To tell you the truth, I forgot her name about 10 years ago, and I am too scared to ask her!”
Yes, men forget too many things, and women remember too many things.
But what about Jesus then? He is God but He is also a man. So does He forget a lot of things, like other men do?
But since Jesus is God, and God created women, as well as their brains and memories, does He remember a lot of things like women do?
Whatever it might be, we can say that Jesus chooses what to remember and what not to remember.
Jesus chooses not to remember our sins when we ask Him for forgiveness. There is this story that a religious nun told a priest about her visions and conversations with Jesus. So the priest said to her, “The next time when Jesus appears to you, ask Him what was my greatest sin.”
A week later, the nun came to see the priest again, and so he asked her, “Did you ask Jesus what was my greatest sin?” The nun replied, “Oh yes, I did ask Jesus, and He told me that He does not remember it because He forgave you that sin.”
That was a smart answer. But that is also the truth. Jesus does not remember our sins whenever we ask for forgiveness.
And that is one thing that we must believe about Jesus the King of mercy and forgiveness. And when we say that we forgive, we are not expected to forget, but at the same time, we choose not to remember the pain and the hurt. When we choose not to remember that, then healing can begin.
So Jesus chooses not to remember our sins because He wants to forgive us and heal us with His mercy.
But Jesus also remembers. He remembers those who turn to Him to ask for mercy and forgiveness.
In the gospel, the good thief defended the innocence of Jesus. And he also made this astonishing request: Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.
It was an astonishing request because the inscription on the cross that read “This is the King of the Jews” was meant to mock Jesus.
But the good thief not only defended the innocence of Jesus, but recognised Him as a King when he said: Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.
And Jesus replied with: Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.
The good thief had done wrong, and he admitted it, but Jesus chose not to remember his sins. Rather, He chose to remember His promise to that good thief to bring him to paradise.
The good thief implored Jesus to remember him, and Jesus did.
The good thief actually taught us how to pray to Jesus, by asking Him to remember.
Jesus, the King of love and mercy will remember us when we ask Him to.
Jesus will not want to remember us for our sins. But He will remember us when we turn to Him with a simple prayer like how the good thief prayed: Jesus, remember me, when You come into Your kingdom.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
33rd Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 17.11.2019
Malachi 3:19-20 / 2 Thess 3:7-12 / Luke 21:5-19
If we ever need a reason to get a new luggage and winter clothing, then now is the time to get it. Because there are sales and sales at every shopping mall and every other shop.
But there is a reason behind the sales of luggage and winter-clothing. And that’s because the school holidays have begun, and it is like an exodus from the country to some exotic place, where it is cold and with snow, that is why the winter clothing and luggage.
Even going to a usually dry and hot place like the Holy Land would require some warm clothing, especially during this time of the year.
And if we have not made any holiday plans yet, then we can consider going there. It is not that far, not that very expensive, quite safe, and we can end up being quite holy as well.
And while we are there, we can also check out some of the holy sites. One of the holy sites that the tour guide will bring us to will be the site where the Temple of Jerusalem was.
There we will see for ourselves what Jesus meant by “not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.”
There was nothing significant left of the Temple. There is not a trace of the fine stonework and votive offering that the people in the gospel were admiring.
Furthermore, on that very site is another building, so that Temple of Jerusalem, and what it was like, is left to our imagination.
However, there is something of the Temple that is still existing, and survived the destruction and the test of time.
As we ponder on what that is, when it comes to destruction, and the test of time, usually it is not one stone left on another, as Jesus would put it.
And Jesus said more than that in the gospel. He talked about turmoil and distress, persecution and revolutions, disasters and tragedies.
It is certainly something that is dark to hear on a bright sunny day.
But in spite of the rather dark overtones, there is an underlying message of hope. Because Jesus tells us this, and we have to keep it carefully in mind:
You are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.
So in the face of devastation, there is consolation. What seems to be hopeless, there is hope. It is a consolation and a hope in the assurance and promise of Jesus.
Coming back to the site of the Temple of Jerusalem. Virtually nothing much is left of it. Nothing much except for one thing, and that is, a wall.
It’s called the Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall. Jews and Christians, as well as others, go there to pray and slip in a prayer written on pieces of paper. That is no ordinary wall and there is a story to it.
When the Temple was being built, the work was divided among the different sections of the population. The building of the Western Wall was given to the poor and it was considered the least significant part of the Temple. To put it simply, it was just a retaining wall, to prevent soil erosion, among other things.
The poor worked hard to construct it, as they could not hire labourers to do the work. Also all the labourers were hired by the rich. So stone by stone, the poor constructed the Western Wall.
When the Roman army was destroying the Temple in 70 AD, God said that the work of the poor, shall not be destroyed, and the angels descended from on high and spread their wings to protect the Wall.
The Temple was the symbol of the Divine Presence among the people. So even when the Temple was destroyed, the Divine Presence did not leave that Wall and it still stands to this present day.
That Western Wall, that Wailing Wall, is deemed as holy. That is the symbol of the Divine Presence.
So the Wall is a symbol of the Divine Presence for the Jewish people. That Wall, although it is a reminder of devastation, it is also the symbol of hope.
That Wall, the work of the poor is also the symbol of the promises of God. It has endured to this day and hence it has a message for us.
Jesus promised us that He will defend us and be our protection. Jesus is the Wall that surrounds us and keeps us safe.
So whether we are going for our holidays, or preparing for the festive season, let us always ask Jesus to surround us with His love and keep us humble and dependent on Him.
In our trials and difficulties, let us turn to Jesus and ask Him to be our strength and to stand firm like that Western Wall.
Let us stand firm in our faith and endurance, so that like the Western Wall, we can be a symbol of the Divine Presence in the world.
If we ever need a reason to get a new luggage and winter clothing, then now is the time to get it. Because there are sales and sales at every shopping mall and every other shop.
But there is a reason behind the sales of luggage and winter-clothing. And that’s because the school holidays have begun, and it is like an exodus from the country to some exotic place, where it is cold and with snow, that is why the winter clothing and luggage.
Even going to a usually dry and hot place like the Holy Land would require some warm clothing, especially during this time of the year.
And if we have not made any holiday plans yet, then we can consider going there. It is not that far, not that very expensive, quite safe, and we can end up being quite holy as well.
And while we are there, we can also check out some of the holy sites. One of the holy sites that the tour guide will bring us to will be the site where the Temple of Jerusalem was.
There we will see for ourselves what Jesus meant by “not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.”
There was nothing significant left of the Temple. There is not a trace of the fine stonework and votive offering that the people in the gospel were admiring.
Furthermore, on that very site is another building, so that Temple of Jerusalem, and what it was like, is left to our imagination.
However, there is something of the Temple that is still existing, and survived the destruction and the test of time.
As we ponder on what that is, when it comes to destruction, and the test of time, usually it is not one stone left on another, as Jesus would put it.
And Jesus said more than that in the gospel. He talked about turmoil and distress, persecution and revolutions, disasters and tragedies.
It is certainly something that is dark to hear on a bright sunny day.
But in spite of the rather dark overtones, there is an underlying message of hope. Because Jesus tells us this, and we have to keep it carefully in mind:
You are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.
So in the face of devastation, there is consolation. What seems to be hopeless, there is hope. It is a consolation and a hope in the assurance and promise of Jesus.
Coming back to the site of the Temple of Jerusalem. Virtually nothing much is left of it. Nothing much except for one thing, and that is, a wall.
It’s called the Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall. Jews and Christians, as well as others, go there to pray and slip in a prayer written on pieces of paper. That is no ordinary wall and there is a story to it.
When the Temple was being built, the work was divided among the different sections of the population. The building of the Western Wall was given to the poor and it was considered the least significant part of the Temple. To put it simply, it was just a retaining wall, to prevent soil erosion, among other things.
The poor worked hard to construct it, as they could not hire labourers to do the work. Also all the labourers were hired by the rich. So stone by stone, the poor constructed the Western Wall.
When the Roman army was destroying the Temple in 70 AD, God said that the work of the poor, shall not be destroyed, and the angels descended from on high and spread their wings to protect the Wall.
The Temple was the symbol of the Divine Presence among the people. So even when the Temple was destroyed, the Divine Presence did not leave that Wall and it still stands to this present day.
That Western Wall, that Wailing Wall, is deemed as holy. That is the symbol of the Divine Presence.
So the Wall is a symbol of the Divine Presence for the Jewish people. That Wall, although it is a reminder of devastation, it is also the symbol of hope.
That Wall, the work of the poor is also the symbol of the promises of God. It has endured to this day and hence it has a message for us.
Jesus promised us that He will defend us and be our protection. Jesus is the Wall that surrounds us and keeps us safe.
So whether we are going for our holidays, or preparing for the festive season, let us always ask Jesus to surround us with His love and keep us humble and dependent on Him.
In our trials and difficulties, let us turn to Jesus and ask Him to be our strength and to stand firm like that Western Wall.
Let us stand firm in our faith and endurance, so that like the Western Wall, we can be a symbol of the Divine Presence in the world.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
32nd Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 10.11.2019
2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 / 2 Thess 2:16 – 3:5 / Luke 20:27-38
We know what the riddle is, and it is always fun and challenging to solve a riddle.
A riddle is a question that is intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity and creativity in solving it.
But if ingenuity and creativity is required to solve a riddle, then ingenuity and creativity is also required to think up a riddle.
So here comes a riddle. Why is the math book so sad? Answer: Because it has so many problems.
Yes, a math book has so many problems, and it can be said that the math book is like a book about life.
Life also has so many problems. But while the math book has the answers to the problems at the end of the book, the book about life does not have all the answers so readily available.
So the book about life is like a math book that does not have the answers at the end of the book.
We can try to solve the problems about life with ingenuity and creativity, but there is no guarantee, there is no certainty, that our answers are correct.
In the first reading, we heard about the seven brothers and their mother facing a big problem. They were forced to eat something which their religious law forbid.
As they were savagely tortured and put to death one by one for refusing to obey the king’s orders, they were united in one answer, that is, that God will reward them for their faithfulness in the afterlife. They believe in God’s promises that they will rise from the dead.
That is not just an ingenious or creative answer. Rather it is a faith response to the promise of God to a life that is beyond this world. But it takes a lot of faith to believe that, as the seven brothers and their mother had courageously shown.
In the gospel, there were the Sadducees who don’t believe in the afterlife or in the resurrection. For them, this life is all there is, so they must get the best out of it and enjoy the most out of it.
They would have known about the story of the seven brothers, but they twisted the story and made it into a question for Jesus, hoping to debunk the belief in the afterlife and in the resurrection.
So they came up with a story about seven brothers, the first married a woman, but he died childless, and according to a writing from Moses, the next brother must marry the woman, but he too died childless, and it went on and on till all seven brothers died, and finally the woman herself died.
Now the question of the Sadducees: At the resurrection, to which of the seven brothers will the woman be wife, since she had been married to all seven?
That was a tricky question, but it was an earthly question, and Jesus gave a Heavenly reply.
But how much of what Jesus said can be understood, well, that’s another question.
A woman came back from church and told her husband that the priest said in the homily that in heaven they would not be husband and wife anymore. The husband replied: That is why it is called heaven, and how I look forward to go there.
So Jesus tells us that our life in heaven is the life of the resurrection, and as much as our life on earth is a preparation for the life in heaven, let us also not be confused that the things of earth are going to be like the things above.
That was the Sadducees’ problem, so their book about life is like a math book that don’t have answers at the back or at the end. Their book is like a sad math book that only has problems but no answers.
Our book about life also has problems, but our faith in the Risen Jesus tells us what the answer is – that there is life beyond death, it is a new life in heaven, it is the life of the resurrection.
So the earthly death, as much as it can be quite disturbing, it is also God’s wonderful way of giving us the glorious new life of heaven.
And so while on earth, we prepare for this finality of death by our daily dying for our earthly desires and sinfulness.
So we die to anger, bitterness and resentment. We die to unnecessary complaining and useless arguing. We die to the laziness so that we can make a commitment to Jesus and keep running the race. We die to the addiction to our mobile phones so that we can have time for communication with God in prayer.
It is through our daily dying to selfishness and sin that we solve the problems in the book about life and come to see that the final question about death is actually the answer to a new life in God.
And may God, who is not God of the dead, but God of the living, write our names in the Book of Life and welcome us into the eternal life of Heaven.
We know what the riddle is, and it is always fun and challenging to solve a riddle.
A riddle is a question that is intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity and creativity in solving it.
But if ingenuity and creativity is required to solve a riddle, then ingenuity and creativity is also required to think up a riddle.
So here comes a riddle. Why is the math book so sad? Answer: Because it has so many problems.
Yes, a math book has so many problems, and it can be said that the math book is like a book about life.
Life also has so many problems. But while the math book has the answers to the problems at the end of the book, the book about life does not have all the answers so readily available.
So the book about life is like a math book that does not have the answers at the end of the book.
We can try to solve the problems about life with ingenuity and creativity, but there is no guarantee, there is no certainty, that our answers are correct.
In the first reading, we heard about the seven brothers and their mother facing a big problem. They were forced to eat something which their religious law forbid.
As they were savagely tortured and put to death one by one for refusing to obey the king’s orders, they were united in one answer, that is, that God will reward them for their faithfulness in the afterlife. They believe in God’s promises that they will rise from the dead.
That is not just an ingenious or creative answer. Rather it is a faith response to the promise of God to a life that is beyond this world. But it takes a lot of faith to believe that, as the seven brothers and their mother had courageously shown.
In the gospel, there were the Sadducees who don’t believe in the afterlife or in the resurrection. For them, this life is all there is, so they must get the best out of it and enjoy the most out of it.
They would have known about the story of the seven brothers, but they twisted the story and made it into a question for Jesus, hoping to debunk the belief in the afterlife and in the resurrection.
So they came up with a story about seven brothers, the first married a woman, but he died childless, and according to a writing from Moses, the next brother must marry the woman, but he too died childless, and it went on and on till all seven brothers died, and finally the woman herself died.
Now the question of the Sadducees: At the resurrection, to which of the seven brothers will the woman be wife, since she had been married to all seven?
That was a tricky question, but it was an earthly question, and Jesus gave a Heavenly reply.
But how much of what Jesus said can be understood, well, that’s another question.
A woman came back from church and told her husband that the priest said in the homily that in heaven they would not be husband and wife anymore. The husband replied: That is why it is called heaven, and how I look forward to go there.
So Jesus tells us that our life in heaven is the life of the resurrection, and as much as our life on earth is a preparation for the life in heaven, let us also not be confused that the things of earth are going to be like the things above.
That was the Sadducees’ problem, so their book about life is like a math book that don’t have answers at the back or at the end. Their book is like a sad math book that only has problems but no answers.
Our book about life also has problems, but our faith in the Risen Jesus tells us what the answer is – that there is life beyond death, it is a new life in heaven, it is the life of the resurrection.
So the earthly death, as much as it can be quite disturbing, it is also God’s wonderful way of giving us the glorious new life of heaven.
And so while on earth, we prepare for this finality of death by our daily dying for our earthly desires and sinfulness.
So we die to anger, bitterness and resentment. We die to unnecessary complaining and useless arguing. We die to the laziness so that we can make a commitment to Jesus and keep running the race. We die to the addiction to our mobile phones so that we can have time for communication with God in prayer.
It is through our daily dying to selfishness and sin that we solve the problems in the book about life and come to see that the final question about death is actually the answer to a new life in God.
And may God, who is not God of the dead, but God of the living, write our names in the Book of Life and welcome us into the eternal life of Heaven.
Monday, November 4, 2019
31st Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 04-11-19
Romans 11:29-36 / Luke 14:12-14
We have heard it said that “With great power comes great responsibility”. The meaning is that if we have the ability to do something, then we have the responsibility to do it for the good of others.
Similarly, it can be said that with a great gift comes responsibility and accountability.
So when parents give their children the great gift of freedom and independence, then the children must make the responsible decisions that they have to be accountable for.
In the 1st reading, we heard that God never takes back His gifts or revokes His choice.
When we think about what is the great gift that we have received from God, it is none other than the gift of freedom to use our intellect and will in obedience to His laws and help others do follow God's ways.
But when we sin, then we abuse the gift of freedom and God can take back that gift of freedom and we become like animals.
But He won't take back His gifts, just as parents won't chain up their children and lock them up just because they make a mistake by abusing their freedom.
Yes, God won't take back His gifts because it is through those gifts that we can also come back to Him through conversion and repentance.
But let us also not take God's gifts and mercy for granted. Because the time will come for us to be accountable and we will have to take the responsibility of how we have used our intellect and will to obey God and to do good for others.
We have heard it said that “With great power comes great responsibility”. The meaning is that if we have the ability to do something, then we have the responsibility to do it for the good of others.
Similarly, it can be said that with a great gift comes responsibility and accountability.
So when parents give their children the great gift of freedom and independence, then the children must make the responsible decisions that they have to be accountable for.
In the 1st reading, we heard that God never takes back His gifts or revokes His choice.
When we think about what is the great gift that we have received from God, it is none other than the gift of freedom to use our intellect and will in obedience to His laws and help others do follow God's ways.
But when we sin, then we abuse the gift of freedom and God can take back that gift of freedom and we become like animals.
But He won't take back His gifts, just as parents won't chain up their children and lock them up just because they make a mistake by abusing their freedom.
Yes, God won't take back His gifts because it is through those gifts that we can also come back to Him through conversion and repentance.
But let us also not take God's gifts and mercy for granted. Because the time will come for us to be accountable and we will have to take the responsibility of how we have used our intellect and will to obey God and to do good for others.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
31st Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 03.11.2019
Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2 / 2 Thess 1:11 – 2:2 / Luke 19:1-10
For the past couple of days, most of us have been quite busy, in the spiritual sense.
We have been quite busy spiritually because we have been coming to church for the past couple of days.
Friday was the Feast of All Saints and being a day of obligation, we have to come to church for Mass.
Saturday was a memorial for All Souls, and although it was not a day of obligation, we would visit our departed loved ones at the columbarium or cemetery, and go for Mass and offer prayers for them.
And Sunday, of course, we come for the usual Sunday Eucharist.
So we have been spiritually busy, or spiritually occupied, for the past couple of days.
And with All Saints and All Souls coming one after another, that should make us do some thinking and reflection.
All Saints make us think a bit about heaven and that’s where we hope to go one day.
All Souls make us think about death and about the souls in purgatory. And also is that where we are quite like to go? So we better pray for the souls in Purgatory, because if we were to go there, then there will be others praying for us.
But maybe we don’t think about the afterlife that much and that often.
What is more real for us is our health, as we go on in years, especially in the sunset years.
A man was talking to his wife about health and old age. He said to her: My dear, never let me live in a vegetative state, totally dependent on machines and liquid from a bottle. If you see me in that state, I want you to disconnect all the contraptions that are keeping me alive. I would rather die.
The wife looked at him admiringly and said. Okay, I will do that.
And then she went to disconnect the TV, the cable, the computer, the laptop, smartphone, the PlayStation, and then she went to the fridge and threw away all the bottles of beer.
As for the man … he nearly died.
So the afterlife is a future concern and the present life is an immediate concern.
But if the future concern and the immediate concern has no connection whatsoever, then that is really a serious concern.
In the gospel passage, the senior tax collector Zacchaeus was a wealthy man. So his life was comfortable and his immediate concerns were taken care off.
So why was he anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was? He even climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass by that way.
So it wasn’t just curiosity. There was an anxiety. But what was the anxiety? Probably it was an anxiety that arose out of a feeling of being empty.
Zacchaeus was wealthy but maybe he was feeling empty. Zacchaeus had plenty, but maybe he was feeling hungry.
That empty hungry feeling made him climb a sycamore tree, so that he could quell his anxiety.
Whichever way we might want to look at it, in Zacchaeus, we see this reality, and that is, when it is not God’s time, you can’t force it. When it is God’s time, you cannot stop it.
So for Zacchaeus, the time had come. The crowd could not stop him. And climbing up a sycamore tree was not a problem, although it was very strange and even funny for a wealthy senior tax collector to be climbing a tree.
And Jesus also knew that the time for Zacchaeus had come, because when He reached the spot, He looked up and said: Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.
Yes, when God’s time has come, there will be no wasting of time.
So it was an anxiety that led Zacchaeus from his temporary concerns to an eternal concern.
We too have our temporary concerns, as well as our spiritual concerns. For example, we may have been offering prayers and Masses for our departed loved ones, and yet we do not know for sure whether they are already in heaven.
But that is not to be our concern. Our duty is to remember and pray and offer Masses for our departed loved ones. And if they are already in heaven, then they will offer up all our prayers to God, especially for the departed forgotten souls and also for our salvation.
So it is time for us to look beyond our temporary concerns to our eternal future.
Jesus came to seek out and save what was lost. And if today Jesus were to pass by our way, let us not waste any more time.
Let us ask Jesus to save us from our temporary concerns and to set our hearts on our eternal salvation.
For the past couple of days, most of us have been quite busy, in the spiritual sense.
We have been quite busy spiritually because we have been coming to church for the past couple of days.
Friday was the Feast of All Saints and being a day of obligation, we have to come to church for Mass.
Saturday was a memorial for All Souls, and although it was not a day of obligation, we would visit our departed loved ones at the columbarium or cemetery, and go for Mass and offer prayers for them.
And Sunday, of course, we come for the usual Sunday Eucharist.
So we have been spiritually busy, or spiritually occupied, for the past couple of days.
And with All Saints and All Souls coming one after another, that should make us do some thinking and reflection.
All Saints make us think a bit about heaven and that’s where we hope to go one day.
All Souls make us think about death and about the souls in purgatory. And also is that where we are quite like to go? So we better pray for the souls in Purgatory, because if we were to go there, then there will be others praying for us.
But maybe we don’t think about the afterlife that much and that often.
What is more real for us is our health, as we go on in years, especially in the sunset years.
A man was talking to his wife about health and old age. He said to her: My dear, never let me live in a vegetative state, totally dependent on machines and liquid from a bottle. If you see me in that state, I want you to disconnect all the contraptions that are keeping me alive. I would rather die.
The wife looked at him admiringly and said. Okay, I will do that.
And then she went to disconnect the TV, the cable, the computer, the laptop, smartphone, the PlayStation, and then she went to the fridge and threw away all the bottles of beer.
As for the man … he nearly died.
So the afterlife is a future concern and the present life is an immediate concern.
But if the future concern and the immediate concern has no connection whatsoever, then that is really a serious concern.
In the gospel passage, the senior tax collector Zacchaeus was a wealthy man. So his life was comfortable and his immediate concerns were taken care off.
So why was he anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was? He even climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass by that way.
So it wasn’t just curiosity. There was an anxiety. But what was the anxiety? Probably it was an anxiety that arose out of a feeling of being empty.
Zacchaeus was wealthy but maybe he was feeling empty. Zacchaeus had plenty, but maybe he was feeling hungry.
That empty hungry feeling made him climb a sycamore tree, so that he could quell his anxiety.
Whichever way we might want to look at it, in Zacchaeus, we see this reality, and that is, when it is not God’s time, you can’t force it. When it is God’s time, you cannot stop it.
So for Zacchaeus, the time had come. The crowd could not stop him. And climbing up a sycamore tree was not a problem, although it was very strange and even funny for a wealthy senior tax collector to be climbing a tree.
And Jesus also knew that the time for Zacchaeus had come, because when He reached the spot, He looked up and said: Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.
Yes, when God’s time has come, there will be no wasting of time.
So it was an anxiety that led Zacchaeus from his temporary concerns to an eternal concern.
We too have our temporary concerns, as well as our spiritual concerns. For example, we may have been offering prayers and Masses for our departed loved ones, and yet we do not know for sure whether they are already in heaven.
But that is not to be our concern. Our duty is to remember and pray and offer Masses for our departed loved ones. And if they are already in heaven, then they will offer up all our prayers to God, especially for the departed forgotten souls and also for our salvation.
So it is time for us to look beyond our temporary concerns to our eternal future.
Jesus came to seek out and save what was lost. And if today Jesus were to pass by our way, let us not waste any more time.
Let us ask Jesus to save us from our temporary concerns and to set our hearts on our eternal salvation.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
30th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 27.10.2019
Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14, 16-19 / 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 / Luke 18:9-14
The month of October can be called the “R&R” month. So what does “R&R” mean? Is it rest and recreation, or is it rest and relaxation?
That would be nice actually - rest, relaxation and recreation. But those are the kind of things we can think of doing only upon retirement.
But back to what “R&R” means. For students, and they can forget about retirement for now, “R&R” means revision and results.
October is the month for revision, as the year-end exams are looming. May St. Jude help those who are desperately revising and feeling hopeless.
And for the students who have taken the PSLE exams, October is the month to start praying for good results, as the PSLE results will be out in a month’s time.
So whether desperately revising or waiting anxiously and nervously for the PSLE results, it would be very helpful to pray to Saint Jude, patron saint for desperate cases. Saint Jude’s feast day is tomorrow, Monday, 28th of October.
So that’s why October can be called the “R&R” month. It is the month for revision, it is also the month to be prepared for results.
As much as revision and results seem to be the main concern for students, revision and results go beyond from school life to working life, from studying to making a living.
There are other words, like assessment and appraisal, but in essence it is a revision, or a review, so as to see what are the improvements that can be made in order to achieve the desired results.
But more than just for schooling and making a living, a review and a revision of life can help us to grow and to live life well, especially in the spiritual aspect.
In the gospel, Jesus told a parable of two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee’s prayer was more like a review of his state of life and his good deeds.
He was like an “A” student and scored top marks for praying, fasting, paying tithes, and for keeping the Commandments.
So that Pharisee did pretty well. But only according to himself. We wonder who he was praising, God or himself. And we know what is said about self-praise.
And when Jesus told this parable, He made it a point to say this: The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself.
It is strange to say prayers to yourself. It is like praying to yourself. Can that be called prayer in the first place, if the prayer is just to yourself?
So the Pharisee was actually talking to himself in prayer.
Whereas the tax collector was talking to God, and his prayer was simple: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
And Jesus concluded the parable by saying that the tax collector went home at rights with God, but the Pharisee did not.
And through the parable, Jesus teaches us again that anyone who exalts himself will be humbled and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.
And through the parable, Jesus invites us to review our prayer life and the results of our prayer.
It is rather embarrassing to realize that there are times that we are talking to ourselves in prayer. That is like praying to ourselves, and if our prayer is not answered, then we should know why. Because we are like coming before God, but not talking to Him, but talking to ourselves.
Yet, we learned something from the tax collector’s prayer: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God loves a humble sinner, and God is merciful to those who have failed in life, those who are desperate and in despair. God comes to those who need Him.
And when we are desperate, and despair and feeling hopeless, then the saint to turn to is Saint Jude, whose feast day is tomorrow.
Saint Jude knows what is despair and desperation.
He has the same name as the man who betrayed Jesus. So devotion to St. Jude began much later and was slow to pick up.
And then, a for a time, between the 13th century to the 18th century, he was revered, but persecution broke out, and devotion to him fizzled out.
It revived again in the 1920s during the Great Depression, when people were desperate, and in despair and feeling hopeless, but they found God’s mercy through devotion to Saint Jude.
And Saint Jude will pray for us, if we are humble enough to ask him.
And through Saint Jude, let us humbly make this prayer: O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
The month of October can be called the “R&R” month. So what does “R&R” mean? Is it rest and recreation, or is it rest and relaxation?
That would be nice actually - rest, relaxation and recreation. But those are the kind of things we can think of doing only upon retirement.
But back to what “R&R” means. For students, and they can forget about retirement for now, “R&R” means revision and results.
October is the month for revision, as the year-end exams are looming. May St. Jude help those who are desperately revising and feeling hopeless.
And for the students who have taken the PSLE exams, October is the month to start praying for good results, as the PSLE results will be out in a month’s time.
So whether desperately revising or waiting anxiously and nervously for the PSLE results, it would be very helpful to pray to Saint Jude, patron saint for desperate cases. Saint Jude’s feast day is tomorrow, Monday, 28th of October.
So that’s why October can be called the “R&R” month. It is the month for revision, it is also the month to be prepared for results.
As much as revision and results seem to be the main concern for students, revision and results go beyond from school life to working life, from studying to making a living.
There are other words, like assessment and appraisal, but in essence it is a revision, or a review, so as to see what are the improvements that can be made in order to achieve the desired results.
But more than just for schooling and making a living, a review and a revision of life can help us to grow and to live life well, especially in the spiritual aspect.
In the gospel, Jesus told a parable of two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee’s prayer was more like a review of his state of life and his good deeds.
He was like an “A” student and scored top marks for praying, fasting, paying tithes, and for keeping the Commandments.
So that Pharisee did pretty well. But only according to himself. We wonder who he was praising, God or himself. And we know what is said about self-praise.
And when Jesus told this parable, He made it a point to say this: The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself.
It is strange to say prayers to yourself. It is like praying to yourself. Can that be called prayer in the first place, if the prayer is just to yourself?
So the Pharisee was actually talking to himself in prayer.
Whereas the tax collector was talking to God, and his prayer was simple: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
And Jesus concluded the parable by saying that the tax collector went home at rights with God, but the Pharisee did not.
And through the parable, Jesus teaches us again that anyone who exalts himself will be humbled and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.
And through the parable, Jesus invites us to review our prayer life and the results of our prayer.
It is rather embarrassing to realize that there are times that we are talking to ourselves in prayer. That is like praying to ourselves, and if our prayer is not answered, then we should know why. Because we are like coming before God, but not talking to Him, but talking to ourselves.
Yet, we learned something from the tax collector’s prayer: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God loves a humble sinner, and God is merciful to those who have failed in life, those who are desperate and in despair. God comes to those who need Him.
And when we are desperate, and despair and feeling hopeless, then the saint to turn to is Saint Jude, whose feast day is tomorrow.
Saint Jude knows what is despair and desperation.
He has the same name as the man who betrayed Jesus. So devotion to St. Jude began much later and was slow to pick up.
And then, a for a time, between the 13th century to the 18th century, he was revered, but persecution broke out, and devotion to him fizzled out.
It revived again in the 1920s during the Great Depression, when people were desperate, and in despair and feeling hopeless, but they found God’s mercy through devotion to Saint Jude.
And Saint Jude will pray for us, if we are humble enough to ask him.
And through Saint Jude, let us humbly make this prayer: O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Mission Sunday, 20.10.2019
Isaiah 2:1-5 / Ephesians 3:2-12 / Mark 16:15-20
Whenever someone asks us “How are you?” most probably we will reply with “I am okay” or “I’m fine” or “I’m good”.
In a way, we are expected to reply like that. And in a way, when we ask others “How are you?” we expect likewise replies.
What we don’t expect is when we ask someone “How are you?” and they reply with something like this:
- Do you really want to know?
- What do you want?
- Overworked and underpaid.
- Compared to who?
- Next question please.
When someone is not having a good time, asking that person “How are you?” may just open the floodgates to something that we do not expect.
The fact is that everyone has their own battles to fight, and it is not just one battle but many battles at the same time.
The question is that do we want to fight their battles for them, or do we just want to stay out and mind our own business?
When Jesus sent His disciples to go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news, He was like sending them out into a war zone.
That are devils to cast out, there was snakes to pick up and clear, enemies will put poison into their drink and they will have to attend to the sick to cure them.
And these are not their own battles. These other people’s battles and they need not get involved.
But as disciples of Jesus, we have to understand that Jesus sends us out to fight other people’s battles.
But when we fight other people’s battles in the name of Jesus, then Jesus will also fight our battles for us.
We just have to do what Jesus wants of us and He will give us what we need from him.
As the Church celebrates Mission Sunday, we are reminded that Jesus will send us out into the lives of people, so that He can teach them His ways, and so that we will walk with them in His paths. That is the vision of the prophet Isaiah in the first reading.
That sounds good and neat. But the reality is that not every day is a good day. But there is something good in every day.
And we, the disciples of Jesus, must be able to see that, to see that there is something good in every day, and to help others to see goodness in every day, and also to see goodness in their lives.
But of course, the human tendency is to look for what we think is good, and we lament at what we think is not good or what is bad.
But good thing or bad thing, it is hard to say isn’t it? The following story might help us to understand what this means.
Once upon a time, there was a king. The king liked one of his servants very much because he was faithful and always gave very useful advice. Therefore the king took him along wherever he went.
One day, the king was bitten by a dog on the finger. The wound got worse and worse. He asked the servant if that was a bad thing. The servant said, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". In the end, the finger of the king was so bad that it had to be cut off. The king asked the servant again if that was a bad thing. Again, the servant gave the same answer, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". The king became very angry and sent the servant to prison.
One day, the king went hunting in the jungle. He got excited when he was chasing a deer. Deeper and deeper he went into the jungle. In the end he found himself lost in the jungle. To make things worse, he got captured by natives living inside the jungle.
They wanted to sacrifice him to their god. But when they noticed that the king had one finger short, they released him immediately as he was not a perfect man anymore and not suitable for sacrifice. The king managed to get back to his palace after all.
And he finally understood the servant's wise quote, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". If he hadn't lost one finger, he could have been killed by the native people.
He ordered the release the servant, and apologized to him. But to the king's amazement, the servant was not angry at him at all. Instead, the servant said, “It wasn't a bad thing that you locked me up.”
Why did the servant say that, we might ask. Because if the king hadn't locked the servant up, he would have brought the servant along to the jungle. Since the natives found that the king was not suitable, they would have used the servant for the sacrifice. So "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say".
Well, as we look at the world that Jesus is sending us out into, do we see it as a good thing or a bad thing?
Good thing or bad thing, it is hard to say. But as the prophet Isaiah saw in his vision: swords will be hammered into ploughshares, spears into sickles, nation will not lift up sword against nation, and there will be no training for war anymore.
Yes, let us lead others to Jesus, so that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.
That is the Good News that people want to hear. Let us go forth to proclaim it joyfully and courageously.
Whenever someone asks us “How are you?” most probably we will reply with “I am okay” or “I’m fine” or “I’m good”.
In a way, we are expected to reply like that. And in a way, when we ask others “How are you?” we expect likewise replies.
What we don’t expect is when we ask someone “How are you?” and they reply with something like this:
- Do you really want to know?
- What do you want?
- Overworked and underpaid.
- Compared to who?
- Next question please.
When someone is not having a good time, asking that person “How are you?” may just open the floodgates to something that we do not expect.
The fact is that everyone has their own battles to fight, and it is not just one battle but many battles at the same time.
The question is that do we want to fight their battles for them, or do we just want to stay out and mind our own business?
When Jesus sent His disciples to go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news, He was like sending them out into a war zone.
That are devils to cast out, there was snakes to pick up and clear, enemies will put poison into their drink and they will have to attend to the sick to cure them.
And these are not their own battles. These other people’s battles and they need not get involved.
But as disciples of Jesus, we have to understand that Jesus sends us out to fight other people’s battles.
But when we fight other people’s battles in the name of Jesus, then Jesus will also fight our battles for us.
We just have to do what Jesus wants of us and He will give us what we need from him.
As the Church celebrates Mission Sunday, we are reminded that Jesus will send us out into the lives of people, so that He can teach them His ways, and so that we will walk with them in His paths. That is the vision of the prophet Isaiah in the first reading.
That sounds good and neat. But the reality is that not every day is a good day. But there is something good in every day.
And we, the disciples of Jesus, must be able to see that, to see that there is something good in every day, and to help others to see goodness in every day, and also to see goodness in their lives.
But of course, the human tendency is to look for what we think is good, and we lament at what we think is not good or what is bad.
But good thing or bad thing, it is hard to say isn’t it? The following story might help us to understand what this means.
Once upon a time, there was a king. The king liked one of his servants very much because he was faithful and always gave very useful advice. Therefore the king took him along wherever he went.
One day, the king was bitten by a dog on the finger. The wound got worse and worse. He asked the servant if that was a bad thing. The servant said, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". In the end, the finger of the king was so bad that it had to be cut off. The king asked the servant again if that was a bad thing. Again, the servant gave the same answer, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". The king became very angry and sent the servant to prison.
One day, the king went hunting in the jungle. He got excited when he was chasing a deer. Deeper and deeper he went into the jungle. In the end he found himself lost in the jungle. To make things worse, he got captured by natives living inside the jungle.
They wanted to sacrifice him to their god. But when they noticed that the king had one finger short, they released him immediately as he was not a perfect man anymore and not suitable for sacrifice. The king managed to get back to his palace after all.
And he finally understood the servant's wise quote, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". If he hadn't lost one finger, he could have been killed by the native people.
He ordered the release the servant, and apologized to him. But to the king's amazement, the servant was not angry at him at all. Instead, the servant said, “It wasn't a bad thing that you locked me up.”
Why did the servant say that, we might ask. Because if the king hadn't locked the servant up, he would have brought the servant along to the jungle. Since the natives found that the king was not suitable, they would have used the servant for the sacrifice. So "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say".
Well, as we look at the world that Jesus is sending us out into, do we see it as a good thing or a bad thing?
Good thing or bad thing, it is hard to say. But as the prophet Isaiah saw in his vision: swords will be hammered into ploughshares, spears into sickles, nation will not lift up sword against nation, and there will be no training for war anymore.
Yes, let us lead others to Jesus, so that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.
That is the Good News that people want to hear. Let us go forth to proclaim it joyfully and courageously.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
28th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 13.10.2019
2 Kings 5:14-17 / 2 Timothy 2:8-13 / Luke 17:11-19
One of the popular religious practices of Catholics in Singapore is going for pilgrimages, if we can afford it.
And there are numerous pilgrimage sites that we can go to, as well as a good number of pilgrimage tour agencies that will handle all the arrangements to make the pilgrimage as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
And of course, going for a pilgrimage can also be an opportunity to get souvenirs, whether it is from Holy Land or from Lourdes or from Fatima or from the Camino de Santiago.
And those souvenirs are typically religious items like statues, medals, rosaries and pictures. And we can even bring back water from Lourdes in little bottles.
But no matter which pilgrimage site that we go to, we are not likely to bring back two or three cartons of soil.
Maybe if we go to Holy Land, we would be contented with a small container of some grains of sand from the Holy Land, but not two or three cartons of soil. You are going to have a lot of explanation to do at a customs.
In the first reading, we heard of Naaman the leper. He went to Israel to look for cure and when he returned home, he had two mules carrying soil from Israel.
But no one was asking questions or laughing, and they dared not. Because Naaman was the commander of the mighty army of Syria, and he and his army often made forays into Israelite territory to pillage and plunder and bring back captives.
But this time he brought back soil. And we know why. He was healed of his leprosy, and more importantly he came to know who the Healer is.
But why the soil and not the waters of the Jordan in which he had immersed himself seven times and was cured of his leprosy.
In those times and even now, the understanding is that soil, or land, is a very profound sign of the Divine promise of inheritance, that it was God who gave the people the land.
So Naaman brought back soil from Israel as a reminder that it was in Israel that he was cured of the dreaded leprosy, and with that soil he was going to build an altar to worship the God of Israel.
Of course that is a very profound reason. But the soil was also a reminder of his mortality and that how the disease of leprosy had nearly brought him to his end, if not for the intervention of God.
But the soil was also a lesson of humility that he learned in Israel. When he was told to wash himself in the Jordan seven times, he raged and fumed. But his servants persuaded him to do it. After all it was such a simple thing to do.
But he needed to be humble and surrender himself to God. Of course, never talk about surrender to army generals. They won’t want to hear about it.
And incidentally, the Latin word for ground is humus, and from that word comes one of its derivatives and that is humility.
So it is in surrendering with humility that Naaman was cured, he found God, and he gained a thankful heart.
It is said that God has two dwellings: one is in heaven, and the other is in a humble and thankful heart.
So Naaman’s leprosy was cured and his heart was healed in that he now had a humble and thankful heart.
In the gospel, Jesus expressed surprise and disappointment that only one out of ten who were cured of their leprosy came back to give thanks to Him.
And that man was a Samaritan, a foreigner, and just like Naaman, he also received a humble and thankful heart. He threw himself at the feet of Jesus. He knelt on the ground before Jesus, the ground that had the same soil as Naaman took back to his country.
Today’s readings remind us of a spiritual disease, a spiritual leprosy that eats away at our faith and love, causing us to be proud and selfish.
And we can see the spots on this spiritual leprosy in our hearts.
- this resentment, this bitterness, this anger, this hurt
- this immoral relationship, this lustful addiction,
- this greed, this selfishness, this pride
-
Yes, we know that there are spots of our spiritual leprosy. God wants to heal us but we must desire for it, we must know how to get it.
Back in the year 1917, in the land of Portugal, and in an obscure town of Fatima, Our Lady appeared to three peasant children from May to October, on the 13th of each month.
Her message was clear and urgent - Repentance, Confession, penance and prayer, especially the Rosary.
Because so many souls are lost to the devil and yet so little prayers are offered for the repentance and conversion of sinners.
Today is the 13th of October, the anniversary of the final apparition at Fatima. We don’t have to go to Fatima and bring back soil to express our desire for healing.
We begin by responding to the call to prayer, especially the prayer of the Rosary.
May the prayer of each bead of the Rosary cleanse us of our sins and may God grant us a humble and thankful heart.
And with a humble and thankful heart, let us offer reparation for the conversion of sinners, as we remember the prayer taught by our lady and Fatima - O my Jesus forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, take all souls to heaven especially those in need of your mercy.
One of the popular religious practices of Catholics in Singapore is going for pilgrimages, if we can afford it.
And there are numerous pilgrimage sites that we can go to, as well as a good number of pilgrimage tour agencies that will handle all the arrangements to make the pilgrimage as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
And of course, going for a pilgrimage can also be an opportunity to get souvenirs, whether it is from Holy Land or from Lourdes or from Fatima or from the Camino de Santiago.
And those souvenirs are typically religious items like statues, medals, rosaries and pictures. And we can even bring back water from Lourdes in little bottles.
But no matter which pilgrimage site that we go to, we are not likely to bring back two or three cartons of soil.
Maybe if we go to Holy Land, we would be contented with a small container of some grains of sand from the Holy Land, but not two or three cartons of soil. You are going to have a lot of explanation to do at a customs.
In the first reading, we heard of Naaman the leper. He went to Israel to look for cure and when he returned home, he had two mules carrying soil from Israel.
But no one was asking questions or laughing, and they dared not. Because Naaman was the commander of the mighty army of Syria, and he and his army often made forays into Israelite territory to pillage and plunder and bring back captives.
But this time he brought back soil. And we know why. He was healed of his leprosy, and more importantly he came to know who the Healer is.
But why the soil and not the waters of the Jordan in which he had immersed himself seven times and was cured of his leprosy.
In those times and even now, the understanding is that soil, or land, is a very profound sign of the Divine promise of inheritance, that it was God who gave the people the land.
So Naaman brought back soil from Israel as a reminder that it was in Israel that he was cured of the dreaded leprosy, and with that soil he was going to build an altar to worship the God of Israel.
Of course that is a very profound reason. But the soil was also a reminder of his mortality and that how the disease of leprosy had nearly brought him to his end, if not for the intervention of God.
But the soil was also a lesson of humility that he learned in Israel. When he was told to wash himself in the Jordan seven times, he raged and fumed. But his servants persuaded him to do it. After all it was such a simple thing to do.
But he needed to be humble and surrender himself to God. Of course, never talk about surrender to army generals. They won’t want to hear about it.
And incidentally, the Latin word for ground is humus, and from that word comes one of its derivatives and that is humility.
So it is in surrendering with humility that Naaman was cured, he found God, and he gained a thankful heart.
It is said that God has two dwellings: one is in heaven, and the other is in a humble and thankful heart.
So Naaman’s leprosy was cured and his heart was healed in that he now had a humble and thankful heart.
In the gospel, Jesus expressed surprise and disappointment that only one out of ten who were cured of their leprosy came back to give thanks to Him.
And that man was a Samaritan, a foreigner, and just like Naaman, he also received a humble and thankful heart. He threw himself at the feet of Jesus. He knelt on the ground before Jesus, the ground that had the same soil as Naaman took back to his country.
Today’s readings remind us of a spiritual disease, a spiritual leprosy that eats away at our faith and love, causing us to be proud and selfish.
And we can see the spots on this spiritual leprosy in our hearts.
- this resentment, this bitterness, this anger, this hurt
- this immoral relationship, this lustful addiction,
- this greed, this selfishness, this pride
-
Yes, we know that there are spots of our spiritual leprosy. God wants to heal us but we must desire for it, we must know how to get it.
Back in the year 1917, in the land of Portugal, and in an obscure town of Fatima, Our Lady appeared to three peasant children from May to October, on the 13th of each month.
Her message was clear and urgent - Repentance, Confession, penance and prayer, especially the Rosary.
Because so many souls are lost to the devil and yet so little prayers are offered for the repentance and conversion of sinners.
Today is the 13th of October, the anniversary of the final apparition at Fatima. We don’t have to go to Fatima and bring back soil to express our desire for healing.
We begin by responding to the call to prayer, especially the prayer of the Rosary.
May the prayer of each bead of the Rosary cleanse us of our sins and may God grant us a humble and thankful heart.
And with a humble and thankful heart, let us offer reparation for the conversion of sinners, as we remember the prayer taught by our lady and Fatima - O my Jesus forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, take all souls to heaven especially those in need of your mercy.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
27th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 06.10.2019
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 / 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 / Luke 17:5-10
To come to church every week certainly requires faith. Whether it is a strong faith or a weak faith, a deep faith or shallow faith, that’s another matter.
But it will certainly require faith to come to Church week in week out and to pray for our needs and offer up our petitions.
And we also want to believe that God answers prayers. That is our faith in God and that is also why we keep coming to church.
But we have gone through that experience when we prayed and prayed, and nothing happens, and we wonder how long more do we need to keep praying.
Some people have stopped coming to church because they prayed for an urgent need and nothing seems to happen. They get angry and frustrated and so they gave up and stopped coming to church.
And these people are not strangers to us. They could be our family members as well as our relatives and friends.
And when they ask us why their prayers are not answered and what is the use of coming to church anymore, we are lost for answers. We don’t have the answers. Yes, everything happens for a reason, but the hardest thing is waiting for that reason to come along.
And if they turn around and ask us, “Have your prayers been answered?” we won’t be able to give them an immediate affirmative “Yes”. It is not likely that we will be so confident about saying “Yes”.
But we take consolation that in the Bible, there are passages where people cry out to God, they vent at God, they may even be shouting at God.
The first reading from the prophet Habakkuk is not a stoic emotionless prayer to God. We can feel the tension as Habakkuk says:
How long, Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen. To cry oppression in your ear and you will not save? Why do you set injustice before me, why do you look on where there is tyranny? Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes.
To speak like that, or to shout like that, to God, it’s certainly not how a creature talks to the Creator.
But when the house is on fire, there is no time to be polite or courteous. Habakkuk was desperate as he prayed, and yet God does not seem to answer or do anything.
Still in the end, God answered and what an answer it was as God said:
Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read, eager for its own fulfillment, it does not deceive. If it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.
So we have it there in God’s own words, that He will answer prayers, whether they are desperate and urgent, or routine and ordinary. Yes, God will answer prayers and He will do something.
But that would certainly require that little faith in God.
In the gospel, the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. And that was because they had their failures and Jesus was sending them out like lambs among wolves.
And Jesus told them that they only need to have that mustard seed faith and God will work wonders.
Yes, faith moves mountains, but doubts create them.
So we have that mustard seed faith to move mountains. There is no need to ask for an increase of faith. Because if faith were to increase so too will doubts.
And faith in God includes faith in His time. Yes, all will be in God’s time.
Well the hot and hazy month of September is over.
We prayed for rain and that the haze will go away. Well God answered our prayer and we are enjoying cool clean air. But we must continue to pray that the cause of the haze will be resolved.
And just a side comment: If we pray for rain, then we better not complain about the mud. It is part of the package.
Of course faith makes things possible, but possible does not mean easy. We must remember that.
So we must persevere and persist in our prayer and keep that mustard seed faith.
Yes prayer is bringing our wishes and worries to God. But we must also have the faith to leave them there with God.
Yes God will answer our prayers. If it comes slowly, then wait, for come it will without fail.
With our mustard seed faith, we will see how our prayers will be answered.
And with our mustard seed faith, let us trust in the Lord that He will work wonders in His time.
To come to church every week certainly requires faith. Whether it is a strong faith or a weak faith, a deep faith or shallow faith, that’s another matter.
But it will certainly require faith to come to Church week in week out and to pray for our needs and offer up our petitions.
And we also want to believe that God answers prayers. That is our faith in God and that is also why we keep coming to church.
But we have gone through that experience when we prayed and prayed, and nothing happens, and we wonder how long more do we need to keep praying.
Some people have stopped coming to church because they prayed for an urgent need and nothing seems to happen. They get angry and frustrated and so they gave up and stopped coming to church.
And these people are not strangers to us. They could be our family members as well as our relatives and friends.
And when they ask us why their prayers are not answered and what is the use of coming to church anymore, we are lost for answers. We don’t have the answers. Yes, everything happens for a reason, but the hardest thing is waiting for that reason to come along.
And if they turn around and ask us, “Have your prayers been answered?” we won’t be able to give them an immediate affirmative “Yes”. It is not likely that we will be so confident about saying “Yes”.
But we take consolation that in the Bible, there are passages where people cry out to God, they vent at God, they may even be shouting at God.
The first reading from the prophet Habakkuk is not a stoic emotionless prayer to God. We can feel the tension as Habakkuk says:
How long, Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen. To cry oppression in your ear and you will not save? Why do you set injustice before me, why do you look on where there is tyranny? Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes.
To speak like that, or to shout like that, to God, it’s certainly not how a creature talks to the Creator.
But when the house is on fire, there is no time to be polite or courteous. Habakkuk was desperate as he prayed, and yet God does not seem to answer or do anything.
Still in the end, God answered and what an answer it was as God said:
Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read, eager for its own fulfillment, it does not deceive. If it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.
So we have it there in God’s own words, that He will answer prayers, whether they are desperate and urgent, or routine and ordinary. Yes, God will answer prayers and He will do something.
But that would certainly require that little faith in God.
In the gospel, the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. And that was because they had their failures and Jesus was sending them out like lambs among wolves.
And Jesus told them that they only need to have that mustard seed faith and God will work wonders.
Yes, faith moves mountains, but doubts create them.
So we have that mustard seed faith to move mountains. There is no need to ask for an increase of faith. Because if faith were to increase so too will doubts.
And faith in God includes faith in His time. Yes, all will be in God’s time.
Well the hot and hazy month of September is over.
We prayed for rain and that the haze will go away. Well God answered our prayer and we are enjoying cool clean air. But we must continue to pray that the cause of the haze will be resolved.
And just a side comment: If we pray for rain, then we better not complain about the mud. It is part of the package.
Of course faith makes things possible, but possible does not mean easy. We must remember that.
So we must persevere and persist in our prayer and keep that mustard seed faith.
Yes prayer is bringing our wishes and worries to God. But we must also have the faith to leave them there with God.
Yes God will answer our prayers. If it comes slowly, then wait, for come it will without fail.
With our mustard seed faith, we will see how our prayers will be answered.
And with our mustard seed faith, let us trust in the Lord that He will work wonders in His time.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
26th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 29.09.2019
Amos 6:1, 4-7 / 1 Timothy 6:11-16 / Luke 16:19-31
It is not too presumptuous to say that everybody likes to hear stories because stories are very appealing.
A story can be anything from a fairy tale to a real life story.
It also can be a happy or sad story, an inspiring or depressing story, a funny story or one that ends with this line, “the moral of the story is … “ which is a teaching story.
Stories capture the attention and the imagination, and the characters become alive in our minds as the story unfolds.
In a sense, it can be said that the Bible is like a book with many stories.
For the past few weeks, we heard of one story after another. For example there is the story of the dishonest but astute servant, the story of the prodigal son, the story of the shepherd who left the 99 in the wilderness to look for the lost sheep.
But it is not likely that we will hear of any “ghost stories” in the Bible, although these will capture more attention and generate more imagination, and maybe more interest in reading the Bible.
And the best time to tell ghost stories is at night and during funeral wakes. But most probably the purpose is to keep the children quiet and from running around.
So it is not likely that we will find any “ghost stories” in the Bible, although the Bible has many stories of angels and devils.
The parable that Jesus told in the gospel is certainly not a ghost story, but it does capture the attention and the imagination. After all, more than half the story is about the afterlife and about salvation and punishment.
And since it is Jesus who is telling the story, then we need to pay attention to it, because it gives us a glimpse of what our afterlife could be.
The story begins with the lives of two men on earth. One was a rich man, and he had all the luxuries of life - good food, good clothing, good housing and even good health and he was enjoying himself.
Then at the gate of his house, lay a man called Lazarus who was as down as the ground on which he laid. He was hungry, dirty and sickly. Dogs came to lick his sores not because he got some comfort from them but because he just couldn’t chase them away.
Then death came in for both of them and subsequently a reversal of fortunes in the afterlife.
Lazarus was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham, while that rich man was crying out in agony in flames. He was burning in pain and in a fire that does not go out.
Although it was a reversal of fortunes, the story is not saying that the poor will go to heaven and that the rich will go to hell. That is certainly not the point of the story.
Whether rich or poor, the question is about where is God in their lives.
For the rich man, luxury was his god. He loved his luxury and he used his luxury only for himself. He knows that Lazarus was at his gate, but there was nothing for him. The luxury was all for himself. His life on earth is about “me, myself and I”, and so in the afterlife he suffers and he suffers alone.
Lazarus may be among the poorest of the poor, but his name gives us an indication of where God is in his life.
His name, Lazarus, means “God-is-my-helper”. So that tells us that despite his poverty, he still looks to God for his help. And he is finally comforted and it was an everlasting comfort.
So the point is not about where the rich and the poor will go after death. The question is where God is in our lives.
If God is our helper, we would certainly want to help others in need. So if we are rich we will love God and use our riches to help those in need, and not to love our riches and use God for our needs.
And if we are poor, but if God is our helper, then we will still put our faith and our trust in God, and live according to His way, and not to resort to cheating and lying and dishonesty as a way out of poverty.
So the question is where is God in our lives? Is God our helper?
One of the evils of the world today is to tempt us to love our riches and use God for our needs, instead of loving God and using our riches to help those in need.
Today, 29th September, is the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There is this prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1884:
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
There are a couple of stories of why he composed that prayer.
One story is that he had a vision of a legion of demons attacking the church. Another was that he heard a conversation between the devil and God.
The devil said that he could destroy the Church if given enough power and time, and God permitted the devil to do so and even let him pick his time, and the devil chose the 20th century.
But whether 20th century or 21st century, in every age and time, the devil is going all out to make us love our riches and use God for our needs.
But like Lazarus, may God be our helper, and let us pray to Saint Michael the Archangel to be our protector against the devil.
Let us remember that what we do now will have a bearing on our eternity.
It is not too presumptuous to say that everybody likes to hear stories because stories are very appealing.
A story can be anything from a fairy tale to a real life story.
It also can be a happy or sad story, an inspiring or depressing story, a funny story or one that ends with this line, “the moral of the story is … “ which is a teaching story.
Stories capture the attention and the imagination, and the characters become alive in our minds as the story unfolds.
In a sense, it can be said that the Bible is like a book with many stories.
For the past few weeks, we heard of one story after another. For example there is the story of the dishonest but astute servant, the story of the prodigal son, the story of the shepherd who left the 99 in the wilderness to look for the lost sheep.
But it is not likely that we will hear of any “ghost stories” in the Bible, although these will capture more attention and generate more imagination, and maybe more interest in reading the Bible.
And the best time to tell ghost stories is at night and during funeral wakes. But most probably the purpose is to keep the children quiet and from running around.
So it is not likely that we will find any “ghost stories” in the Bible, although the Bible has many stories of angels and devils.
The parable that Jesus told in the gospel is certainly not a ghost story, but it does capture the attention and the imagination. After all, more than half the story is about the afterlife and about salvation and punishment.
And since it is Jesus who is telling the story, then we need to pay attention to it, because it gives us a glimpse of what our afterlife could be.
The story begins with the lives of two men on earth. One was a rich man, and he had all the luxuries of life - good food, good clothing, good housing and even good health and he was enjoying himself.
Then at the gate of his house, lay a man called Lazarus who was as down as the ground on which he laid. He was hungry, dirty and sickly. Dogs came to lick his sores not because he got some comfort from them but because he just couldn’t chase them away.
Then death came in for both of them and subsequently a reversal of fortunes in the afterlife.
Lazarus was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham, while that rich man was crying out in agony in flames. He was burning in pain and in a fire that does not go out.
Although it was a reversal of fortunes, the story is not saying that the poor will go to heaven and that the rich will go to hell. That is certainly not the point of the story.
Whether rich or poor, the question is about where is God in their lives.
For the rich man, luxury was his god. He loved his luxury and he used his luxury only for himself. He knows that Lazarus was at his gate, but there was nothing for him. The luxury was all for himself. His life on earth is about “me, myself and I”, and so in the afterlife he suffers and he suffers alone.
Lazarus may be among the poorest of the poor, but his name gives us an indication of where God is in his life.
His name, Lazarus, means “God-is-my-helper”. So that tells us that despite his poverty, he still looks to God for his help. And he is finally comforted and it was an everlasting comfort.
So the point is not about where the rich and the poor will go after death. The question is where God is in our lives.
If God is our helper, we would certainly want to help others in need. So if we are rich we will love God and use our riches to help those in need, and not to love our riches and use God for our needs.
And if we are poor, but if God is our helper, then we will still put our faith and our trust in God, and live according to His way, and not to resort to cheating and lying and dishonesty as a way out of poverty.
So the question is where is God in our lives? Is God our helper?
One of the evils of the world today is to tempt us to love our riches and use God for our needs, instead of loving God and using our riches to help those in need.
Today, 29th September, is the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There is this prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1884:
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
There are a couple of stories of why he composed that prayer.
One story is that he had a vision of a legion of demons attacking the church. Another was that he heard a conversation between the devil and God.
The devil said that he could destroy the Church if given enough power and time, and God permitted the devil to do so and even let him pick his time, and the devil chose the 20th century.
But whether 20th century or 21st century, in every age and time, the devil is going all out to make us love our riches and use God for our needs.
But like Lazarus, may God be our helper, and let us pray to Saint Michael the Archangel to be our protector against the devil.
Let us remember that what we do now will have a bearing on our eternity.
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