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.
Click the links under My Blog List to get to Chinese and English weekday homilies.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
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.
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