Genesis 18:20-32 / Colossians 2:12-24 / Luke 11:1-13
If we want to know how much parents love their children and what they will do for their children, we just have to ask those parents who are applying for their children’s admission to Primary school under Phase 2B.
For those of us who have already experienced that, we will surely empathize with these parents who are going through that process.
It is a high-anxiety, stressful and nerve-wrecking experience for these parents.
And not just for the parents. Even the priests get involved in the process.
Parents request the priests to write letters especially if it is for application to a prominent Catholic school. Parents and their children come and ask for prayers that the application will be successful.
The priests also pray that the application will be successful, otherwise the parents will say that the prayer is not powerful enough.
Of course, some applications are successful and some are not. And for those that are not successful for Phase 2B, they will have to go through the “now-or-never” Phase 2C balloting where the chances are even slimmer.
So the parents are anxious and stressed, the priests also get anxious and stressed. At stake for the parents is the admission of their children to the preferred school. At stake for the priests is the faith in the power of prayer.
For parents and for priests the critical question is: Will God hear the prayers? And will He answer the prayers?
It is not just a question for parents and priests. It is also our question. Every one of us will have the experience of a stressed-out, high-anxiety, nerve-wrecking time of our lives.
So how did it all those episodes turn out? Were our prayers answered? Did we ask for bread and got a stone? Did we ask for fish and got a snake? Did we ask for an egg and got a scorpion?
In the 1st reading, we heard of a rather amazing, and maybe amusing, story of Abraham who stood before the Lord, and he was pleading and negotiating with the Lord not to destroy the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham pleaded that why should the virtuous man be destroyed with the wicked? And he went from 50, to 45, to 40, to 30, to 20 and then finally to 10.
The boldness and persistence of Abraham was really something, and it takes a lot of faith and courage to do this with the Lord.
Yet in doing this, Abraham taught us something and the Lord God also showed us something.
Abraham believed in the mercy and compassion of God, and God also showed that He relented when Abraham appealed to His mercy and compassion.
And we might even wonder: if Abraham had gone further down to 5, or even to 1, will the Lord still relent?
And Jesus also gave us a very encouraging teaching about asking, searching and knocking. He says: For the one who asks always receives, the one who searches always finds, and the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.
Yes, it is very encouraging indeed. But if that is so, then why is it that some people say that their prayers were not answered?
And maybe we are the ones who say that God does not answer our prayers. And so our faith is shaken, we get angry with God, and we wonder if we should still continue believing in God. What is the point in believing in God when He doesn’t hear or answer our prayers?
Maybe we prayed that our child be admitted to the school of our choice, but got rejected. We get disappointed. Or maybe we prayed to get that $54 mobile phone and went to queue for it but we didn’t get it and were disappointed.
We asked, we searched, we knocked and all we got is zero. So how? So what now?
Maybe we should look at our prayer and see what it is about. Very often we state our needs first. We tell God that we want this and we want that.
But we forget to acknowledge God for who He is, that He is our Father, as in the prayer that Jesus taught us, which begins with the words “Our Father”.
And we also need to acknowledge that God our Father is merciful and compassionate. That is the “soft spot” of God, and because we appealed to His mercy and compassion, God will certainly show us how merciful and compassionate He is.
So our prayer should go like this:
O God our Father, You are merciful and compassionate. Have pity on me as I place this prayer before You.
Oh yes, God will hear and answer our humble prayer and He will even give us the Holy Spirit who will teach us how to pray.
Then we will know how to ask, how to search and how to knock.
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Sunday, July 28, 2019
Saturday, July 20, 2019
16th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 21.07.2019
Genesis 18:1-10 / Colossians 1:24-28 / Luke 10:38-42
In our casual conversations, one of the topics that will certainly come up is the weather.
Needless to say, the one word that will be used to describe the current weather is “hot”. And it is not just hot, it is like so hot. If that is used on a person, it can be quite flattering, but used for the weather it is sweltering. Nothing new to our country actually.
But we shouldn’t be complaining. Because not that long ago, just a few years back, there was the haze. Remember the haze? Sounds like some horror movie title.
Although it was choking us, there were people who saw beyond the haze and were joking about it.
Remember the joke about the new ice cream that is called – Haze-gen-daz?
Or that one about not leaving the fish and the meat in the open? Because they will become smoked salmon and smoked ham.
Or about this classroom joke:
Lecturer: Why are you late for class?
Student: I was in class the whole time?
Lecturer: How come I didn’t see you?
Student: Oh, must be the haze.
Oh yes, it was quite bad, and coupled with the heat, it was hot and hazy, and no one was laughing because they were all coughing.
And in that kind of situation, the best thing is to stay indoors with air-con. Going out is just asking for trouble.
In the 1st reading, we heard of Abraham sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day.
And in that region where Abraham was, the hottest part of the day is indeed the hottest, and the only thing to do was to be inside the tent and human activity is reduced to just breathing.
And then Abraham saw three men standing nearby. Now, Abraham could have slid further into his tent and pretended not to see them and wait for them to go away. To go out in that heat is to ask for trouble.
After all, why must those three men be moving around at that hottest part of the day? That is crazy.
But Abraham immediately got up and welcomed them and served them. Well, it was his obligation, as was the custom, to provide hospitality and service to visitors.
Abraham had enough of valid reasons to remain where he was and do nothing. It was the hottest part of the day, it was all so utterly inconvenient for him and his household, it was unexpected and troublesome.
But Abraham chose to do what was right and just. It was the hottest part of the day but he chose to do the most inconvenient, difficult and troublesome thing.
It was at that hottest part of the day that the Lord chose to appear to Abraham, and Abraham chose to respond with best of himself.
And with that Abraham received the best blessings from the Lord, the gift of a son, as promised by the Lord.
But in the gospel, we heard how the heat in the kitchen got Martha worked up and she resorted to complaining to Jesus about her sister Mary not helping her with the serving.
Like Abraham, Martha had welcomed Jesus to her home, although she probably had no prior notice of his visit.
Like Abraham, Martha went ahead to prepare the serving. But she got distracted with all the serving, and then resorted to complaining to Jesus about Mary not helping her.
The word to note here is “distracted”. Martha got distracted, she lost her focus, and resorted to complaining in a bid to call for attention to what she was doing.
Whereas Abraham was focused on serving his visitors and eventually got his blessings, Martha got distracted and lost focus and had to learn the lesson of the better part.
So is the “better part” about just sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him speak, and doing nothing else?
What is this better part then? For Abraham, it was at the hottest of the day, he chose to welcome and serve his visitors, instead of remaining in his tent and do nothing.
It was inconvenient, troublesome and unexpected but he responded with his best. And it was at that hottest part of the day that the Lord came to visit Abraham and because Abraham chose the better part, the Lord gave him the best blessings.
And that is the lesson that the Lord is teaching us. He comes to visit us at the hottest part of the day, when it is most inconvenient, most troublesome, and most unexpected.
It is in the hot and hazy situations of life that we have to choose the better part and to respond with the best of ourselves and do what is the good, the right and the just thing.
With great tribulations come great blessings, and when we respond with the best of ourselves, the Lord responds with the best of His blessings.
The better part comes with the heat, the haze, the inconvenience, and it is troublesome and unexpected.
But when we choose it, the Lord will bless us abundantly, blessings that will not be taken from us.
In our casual conversations, one of the topics that will certainly come up is the weather.
Needless to say, the one word that will be used to describe the current weather is “hot”. And it is not just hot, it is like so hot. If that is used on a person, it can be quite flattering, but used for the weather it is sweltering. Nothing new to our country actually.
But we shouldn’t be complaining. Because not that long ago, just a few years back, there was the haze. Remember the haze? Sounds like some horror movie title.
Although it was choking us, there were people who saw beyond the haze and were joking about it.
Remember the joke about the new ice cream that is called – Haze-gen-daz?
Or that one about not leaving the fish and the meat in the open? Because they will become smoked salmon and smoked ham.
Or about this classroom joke:
Lecturer: Why are you late for class?
Student: I was in class the whole time?
Lecturer: How come I didn’t see you?
Student: Oh, must be the haze.
Oh yes, it was quite bad, and coupled with the heat, it was hot and hazy, and no one was laughing because they were all coughing.
And in that kind of situation, the best thing is to stay indoors with air-con. Going out is just asking for trouble.
In the 1st reading, we heard of Abraham sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day.
And in that region where Abraham was, the hottest part of the day is indeed the hottest, and the only thing to do was to be inside the tent and human activity is reduced to just breathing.
And then Abraham saw three men standing nearby. Now, Abraham could have slid further into his tent and pretended not to see them and wait for them to go away. To go out in that heat is to ask for trouble.
After all, why must those three men be moving around at that hottest part of the day? That is crazy.
But Abraham immediately got up and welcomed them and served them. Well, it was his obligation, as was the custom, to provide hospitality and service to visitors.
Abraham had enough of valid reasons to remain where he was and do nothing. It was the hottest part of the day, it was all so utterly inconvenient for him and his household, it was unexpected and troublesome.
But Abraham chose to do what was right and just. It was the hottest part of the day but he chose to do the most inconvenient, difficult and troublesome thing.
It was at that hottest part of the day that the Lord chose to appear to Abraham, and Abraham chose to respond with best of himself.
And with that Abraham received the best blessings from the Lord, the gift of a son, as promised by the Lord.
But in the gospel, we heard how the heat in the kitchen got Martha worked up and she resorted to complaining to Jesus about her sister Mary not helping her with the serving.
Like Abraham, Martha had welcomed Jesus to her home, although she probably had no prior notice of his visit.
Like Abraham, Martha went ahead to prepare the serving. But she got distracted with all the serving, and then resorted to complaining to Jesus about Mary not helping her.
The word to note here is “distracted”. Martha got distracted, she lost her focus, and resorted to complaining in a bid to call for attention to what she was doing.
Whereas Abraham was focused on serving his visitors and eventually got his blessings, Martha got distracted and lost focus and had to learn the lesson of the better part.
So is the “better part” about just sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him speak, and doing nothing else?
What is this better part then? For Abraham, it was at the hottest of the day, he chose to welcome and serve his visitors, instead of remaining in his tent and do nothing.
It was inconvenient, troublesome and unexpected but he responded with his best. And it was at that hottest part of the day that the Lord came to visit Abraham and because Abraham chose the better part, the Lord gave him the best blessings.
And that is the lesson that the Lord is teaching us. He comes to visit us at the hottest part of the day, when it is most inconvenient, most troublesome, and most unexpected.
It is in the hot and hazy situations of life that we have to choose the better part and to respond with the best of ourselves and do what is the good, the right and the just thing.
With great tribulations come great blessings, and when we respond with the best of ourselves, the Lord responds with the best of His blessings.
The better part comes with the heat, the haze, the inconvenience, and it is troublesome and unexpected.
But when we choose it, the Lord will bless us abundantly, blessings that will not be taken from us.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
15th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 14.07.2019
Deuteronomy 30:10-14 / Colossians 1:15-20 / Luke 10:25-37
We have heard of this phrase “the road less travelled”. Actually it is part of a longer sentence that goes like this: Two roads diverged into the woods, and I – I took the one less travelled. And that has made all the difference.
That is the last sentence of a poem by Robert Frost. And that sentence summarizes what the poem is about. It is about the choices in life, and essentially it is about the two choices.
One is the well-travelled wide road which is an attractive choice. The other is hardly a trail and obviously more difficult and less appealing.
The human inclination would be to go for the wide and easy road. After all that is the obvious choice and most have chosen to go that way.
The road less travelled obviously means difficulty. But the road less travelled has this message: Life is difficult.
Yes, life is difficult. But that is a great truth, in fact one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.
When we truly know that life is difficult, when we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer really matters.
Of course that won’t make life any easier, but when we accept and are prepared that life is going to be difficult, then choosing the road less travelled will make all the difference.
In the gospel, Jesus told a parable of a man on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho. That man was travelling alone. He seemed to have taken the road less travelled, because others would have travelled in groups, and probably taken a safer longer road.
And it was on that road that the man fell into the hands of brigands, they took all he had, beat him up and then made off, leaving him half-dead.
And then on that same road, came along a priest, and then a Levite. Both were religious persons, but both chose to pass by the wounded man, for whatever reasons.
Then came along this Samaritan traveler, a non-Jew, and as we may know, Jews and Samaritans want to have nothing to do with each other because they were enemies.
So this Samaritan traveler, a rather unexpected character in the parable, did the rather unexpected thing. He was moved with compassion, he went to help the wounded man, bandaged his wounds, carried him on his mount to the inn and told the inn-keeper to look after him and paid for the expenses.
So it was on that road from Jerusalem to Jericho, probably a road less travelled, that the lawyer, who tried to disconcert Jesus, had his question addressed.
He had asked Jesus “Who is my neighbour?” and Jesus let the parable address his question.
And then Jesus had a question for him too – Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands’ hands?
The lawyer’s answer says it all – The one who took pity on him.
So the lawyer’s question of “Who is my neighbour?” was addressed by his own answer.
And his own answer also addressed what a true neighbour is. A true neighbour is one who has pity and compassion on someone who is in need.
This parable is often called the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The term “Good Samaritan” has come to stand for those who want to help others in need.
Yes, Good Samaritans are those who take the road less travelled, in that where others pass by those in need, they go and reach out and help, like how the Samaritan helped the wounded man in the parable.
So we understand the term “Good Samaritan”. And like the Samaritan in the parable, we also have taken the road less travelled.
We have taken the way of Christianity, which is no doubt, a difficult way.
And in walking this way, others will know us as Christians. But will they call us “Good Christians”, just as we call that Samaritan in the parable, the “Good Samaritan”?
To be a Christian is to make the choice of walking the way of Christianity, which is already the road less travelled. So we will be called Christian.
But to be a “Good Christian”, that would mean that we embark on a more challenging way – the way of love and compassion.
And religion is about love and compassion, without which then religion is hollow and Christianity would just be a name without a meaning.
So we are not just a Christian or a Catholic. We must be a “Good Christian” and a “Good Catholic”, who will be a neighbour of love and compassion to those in need.
The way of love and compassion is a difficult way and a road less travelled. But we walk that road because we are following Jesus, our “Good Shepherd” who is love and compassion, and He want us to follow Him and to be a neighbour of love and compassion to those in need.
We have heard of this phrase “the road less travelled”. Actually it is part of a longer sentence that goes like this: Two roads diverged into the woods, and I – I took the one less travelled. And that has made all the difference.
That is the last sentence of a poem by Robert Frost. And that sentence summarizes what the poem is about. It is about the choices in life, and essentially it is about the two choices.
One is the well-travelled wide road which is an attractive choice. The other is hardly a trail and obviously more difficult and less appealing.
The human inclination would be to go for the wide and easy road. After all that is the obvious choice and most have chosen to go that way.
The road less travelled obviously means difficulty. But the road less travelled has this message: Life is difficult.
Yes, life is difficult. But that is a great truth, in fact one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.
When we truly know that life is difficult, when we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer really matters.
Of course that won’t make life any easier, but when we accept and are prepared that life is going to be difficult, then choosing the road less travelled will make all the difference.
In the gospel, Jesus told a parable of a man on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho. That man was travelling alone. He seemed to have taken the road less travelled, because others would have travelled in groups, and probably taken a safer longer road.
And it was on that road that the man fell into the hands of brigands, they took all he had, beat him up and then made off, leaving him half-dead.
And then on that same road, came along a priest, and then a Levite. Both were religious persons, but both chose to pass by the wounded man, for whatever reasons.
Then came along this Samaritan traveler, a non-Jew, and as we may know, Jews and Samaritans want to have nothing to do with each other because they were enemies.
So this Samaritan traveler, a rather unexpected character in the parable, did the rather unexpected thing. He was moved with compassion, he went to help the wounded man, bandaged his wounds, carried him on his mount to the inn and told the inn-keeper to look after him and paid for the expenses.
So it was on that road from Jerusalem to Jericho, probably a road less travelled, that the lawyer, who tried to disconcert Jesus, had his question addressed.
He had asked Jesus “Who is my neighbour?” and Jesus let the parable address his question.
And then Jesus had a question for him too – Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands’ hands?
The lawyer’s answer says it all – The one who took pity on him.
So the lawyer’s question of “Who is my neighbour?” was addressed by his own answer.
And his own answer also addressed what a true neighbour is. A true neighbour is one who has pity and compassion on someone who is in need.
This parable is often called the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The term “Good Samaritan” has come to stand for those who want to help others in need.
Yes, Good Samaritans are those who take the road less travelled, in that where others pass by those in need, they go and reach out and help, like how the Samaritan helped the wounded man in the parable.
So we understand the term “Good Samaritan”. And like the Samaritan in the parable, we also have taken the road less travelled.
We have taken the way of Christianity, which is no doubt, a difficult way.
And in walking this way, others will know us as Christians. But will they call us “Good Christians”, just as we call that Samaritan in the parable, the “Good Samaritan”?
To be a Christian is to make the choice of walking the way of Christianity, which is already the road less travelled. So we will be called Christian.
But to be a “Good Christian”, that would mean that we embark on a more challenging way – the way of love and compassion.
And religion is about love and compassion, without which then religion is hollow and Christianity would just be a name without a meaning.
So we are not just a Christian or a Catholic. We must be a “Good Christian” and a “Good Catholic”, who will be a neighbour of love and compassion to those in need.
The way of love and compassion is a difficult way and a road less travelled. But we walk that road because we are following Jesus, our “Good Shepherd” who is love and compassion, and He want us to follow Him and to be a neighbour of love and compassion to those in need.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
14th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 07.07.2019
Isaiah 66:10-14 / Galatians 6:14-18 / Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
It is said that if we want to have peace, then we must prepare for war.
That is the battle cry of mankind from the earliest times when man used sticks and stones against each other, to nations lifting swords and spears in confrontation, to modern weapons of mass destruction and annihilation.
But from the countless wars that have been fought, the one lesson that never seems to be learnt is that war does not prove who is right, but only who is left. And by then, not much is left.
All this is because there are assumptions that the world makes and they have become like “operational principles”.
For example, loud is strong and quiet is weak. So we shout down our opponents.
Size and numbers are the measure of strength and might. So, the bigger the better.
Punishment and humiliation are necessary for law and order. So pain and shame is the call of the day.
These are assumptions that the world has recourse to in order to solve a difficult situation.
But history has shown over and over again that these assumptions and the presumed solutions have not worked for the better.
Hence as much as the world yearns for peace, at the same time it prepares for war, because in the end, war is still the preferred choice to solve a problem.
So what does Christianity has to offer in the midst of all these loud and aggressive assumptions?
In the gospel, Jesus talked about a rich harvest, yet the labourers are few.
This rich harvest can be seen as a harvest of peace and salvation. Yet the labourers for this harvest are few, because most of the labourers prefer a quick harvest of violence and aggression.
And Jesus knows fully well the dangers of sending workers to harvest peace and salvation.
He tells His disciples this: Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
How more graphic and vivid can Jesus describe what the dangers of working for peace and salvation can be?
Being like lambs among wolves is like a suicide mission, there is zero survival chance. Nothing is going to be achieved and all is going to be futile.
And here is where we have to listen to Jesus – be like lambs among wolves.
In other words, as disciples of Jesus, we are not going to fight fire with fire. We are not going to follow the ways and the assumptions of the world.
In the face of violence and aggression, and surrounded by fierce wolves, we are called to be meek and gentle lambs and offer peace.
So we don’t let people tear us into pieces; rather we draw them into our peace.
Let us remember that peace is not the absence of conflict, but it the ability to resolve conflict by peaceful means.
Only when the power of love overcomes the love for power, then there will be peace. Because where there is love, there will be peace.
So in order to have peace, we must prepare for love. Peace is the only battle worth fighting for.
It is a battle that we can win only when we listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd and to be the labourers and the channels of peace.
We must let the peace of Jesus heal our violent and aggressive inclinations, so that what He says to us, we too can say to others, and that is “Peace be with you.”
Jesus has given us the power to tread underfoot the serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy.
And because Jesus is our Good Shepherd, we must be His lambs of peace and not become wolves of war.
And so to Jesus we pray the well-known and profound prayer:
Make me a channel of Your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring Your love
Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in You
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness ever joy
It is said that if we want to have peace, then we must prepare for war.
That is the battle cry of mankind from the earliest times when man used sticks and stones against each other, to nations lifting swords and spears in confrontation, to modern weapons of mass destruction and annihilation.
But from the countless wars that have been fought, the one lesson that never seems to be learnt is that war does not prove who is right, but only who is left. And by then, not much is left.
All this is because there are assumptions that the world makes and they have become like “operational principles”.
For example, loud is strong and quiet is weak. So we shout down our opponents.
Size and numbers are the measure of strength and might. So, the bigger the better.
Punishment and humiliation are necessary for law and order. So pain and shame is the call of the day.
These are assumptions that the world has recourse to in order to solve a difficult situation.
But history has shown over and over again that these assumptions and the presumed solutions have not worked for the better.
Hence as much as the world yearns for peace, at the same time it prepares for war, because in the end, war is still the preferred choice to solve a problem.
So what does Christianity has to offer in the midst of all these loud and aggressive assumptions?
In the gospel, Jesus talked about a rich harvest, yet the labourers are few.
This rich harvest can be seen as a harvest of peace and salvation. Yet the labourers for this harvest are few, because most of the labourers prefer a quick harvest of violence and aggression.
And Jesus knows fully well the dangers of sending workers to harvest peace and salvation.
He tells His disciples this: Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
How more graphic and vivid can Jesus describe what the dangers of working for peace and salvation can be?
Being like lambs among wolves is like a suicide mission, there is zero survival chance. Nothing is going to be achieved and all is going to be futile.
And here is where we have to listen to Jesus – be like lambs among wolves.
In other words, as disciples of Jesus, we are not going to fight fire with fire. We are not going to follow the ways and the assumptions of the world.
In the face of violence and aggression, and surrounded by fierce wolves, we are called to be meek and gentle lambs and offer peace.
So we don’t let people tear us into pieces; rather we draw them into our peace.
Let us remember that peace is not the absence of conflict, but it the ability to resolve conflict by peaceful means.
Only when the power of love overcomes the love for power, then there will be peace. Because where there is love, there will be peace.
So in order to have peace, we must prepare for love. Peace is the only battle worth fighting for.
It is a battle that we can win only when we listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd and to be the labourers and the channels of peace.
We must let the peace of Jesus heal our violent and aggressive inclinations, so that what He says to us, we too can say to others, and that is “Peace be with you.”
Jesus has given us the power to tread underfoot the serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy.
And because Jesus is our Good Shepherd, we must be His lambs of peace and not become wolves of war.
And so to Jesus we pray the well-known and profound prayer:
Make me a channel of Your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring Your love
Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in You
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness ever joy
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