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.
Click the links under My Blog List to get to Chinese and English weekday homilies.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
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.
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