8th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 27.02.2022

 Ecclesiasticus 27:4-7 / 1 Cor 15:54-58 / Luke 6:39-45

It is said that eating is a favourite pastime for Singaporeans. It is not just for Singaporeans, but certainly for every nationality. 

Eating is not just a pastime. It is a necessity. We eat to live, although there are people who live to eat. 

Whatever the case may be, we will find our way to the food, or the food will find its way to us. 

As much as eating is a necessity, or even if it is a luxury, we have to be careful of what we put into our mouths. 

More than just the taste and the type of food that we put into our mouths, what is really important is the effect of the food when it goes into our digestive system. 

So, food is not just judged by its taste but by its eventual effect on our bodies and on our health. 

Hence, we have to be careful about what we eat. Not only should we not eat bad food, but we must also eat good and nutritious food. 

If that is the way to look at food, then what is the way to know what a person is really like? 

We won't be able to know what a person is like just by appearances, just as a book is not judged by its cover. 

One of the ways to know what a person is like is by the words that come out of a person's mouth. 

The 1st reading has this to tell us: “In a shaken sieve, the rubbish is left behind, so to the defects of a man appears in his talk, and the test of a man is in his conversation. A man’s words betray what he feels.”

A person may be glib with sweet talk, but those kind of words do not have any good and lasting effect on others. In other words, it is just empty talk. 

Jesus tells us this in the gospel: For a man's words flow out of what fills his heart. 

So, we can tell what a person is like by the words that comes out of his mouth. 

Whether the words are simple or sophisticated, whether the person is articulate or not, it is about the feel and the effect of that person’s words on others. 

Because what fills the heart of a person is felt by those who hear the words of that person. 

As much as that is one of the ways by which we know what a person is like, it also should make us look at what our heart is like and what fills our heart. 

Obviously, by the same measure, we would know what our heart is like by the words that come out of our mouth. 

If we find that our words are angry, sarcastic, critical, judgmental and depressive, then we know what fills our hearts and by our words we will know ourselves. 

So, as much as we must be careful about the food that goes into our mouths, we too must be careful about the words that come out of our mouths. 

As much as we taste the food to see if it is good or not, let us also taste our words to see if it will do good for others. 

Let us acknowledge that there is rubbish in our hearts, and let us ask Jesus to cleanse our hearts to make it pure and clean.

Let us keep in our hearts what is good and loving, so that our mouths will speak words of praise and thanksgiving. 

Let us ask Jesus to make His home in our hearts, so that we will speak words of peace to each other and cleanse the world of hatred and evil. 

By our words, may others know that we are a people of peace and love, and may they be able to see that Jesus lives in our hearts.

7th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 20.02.2022

 1 Sam 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 / 1 Cor 15:45-49 / Luke 6:27-38

Whenever we go for a meal at the restaurant, there will be the typical appetizers, main course and then at end of the meal that will be dessert. 

So, whether it is a birthday celebration or a wedding banquet, whether it is a 5-course or a 10-course meal, the last course will be dessert. 

The dessert is usually quite light and it can be anything from cakes to ice cream, or fruits, and generally the taste would be sweet. 

At times, the variety of desserts on the menu is quite fascinating, and for those with a sweet tooth, the urge would be to just have all the dessert and forget about the main course. 

Anyway, the purpose of the desert being at the end of the meal could be that the final taste of the whole meal would be sweet. 

So, whether it is a birthday or wedding celebration, the sweet taste of the dessert at the end of the meal is to symbolize the blessings of sweetness in life. 

Yes, we hope and desire for sweetness in life, in our relationships, in our careers, in our projects, in short, sweetness in all the aspects of our lives. 

Yes, we want our lives to be sweet and happy, and in the gospel, Jesus is teaching us the way to happiness and sweetness in life. 

But that teaching would taste like bitter-sweet, bitter at first but after that it will be sweet. 

And essentially, the teaching of Jesus is this: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. 

That teaching goes against our instinct, because our reactions to our enemies would be eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. 

Retaliation and revenge swims in our blood, and that is also why there is so much violence and bloodshed in the world. 

For the world, to be strong means to fight fire with fire, but as it is there will only be a greater fire that burns and destroys. 

But the truth of the Good News is that real strength lies in love and forgiveness, in compassion and kindness. 

It is in this truth that Psalm 34 would say this: Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is he who takes refuge and hope in the Lord. 

Yes, the Lord our God wants to bless us with happiness and sweetness of life. 

We want this sweetness, we desire for this happiness in life. 

Our enemies, those who hate us, those who curse us, those who treat us badly, they too want to have happiness and sweetness in life. 

But as in a meal, if we really want to have the desert, then we would go easy on the main course, so that we will enjoy the desert. 

Similarly, to retaliate, to fight fire with fire, to go eye for eye and tooth for tooth, would only make us bloat with anger, resentment and even hatred. 

Let us turn to the Lord our God who is love and compassion, to cleanse all this bitterness in our hearts so that He can fill us with the sweetness of His love. 

And let us also asked the Lord our God to bless our enemies, those who hate us, those who curse us, those who treat us badly, and may the sour and bitter relationships with them be turned into sweetness and happiness. 

May we and the world taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

6th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 13.02.2022

 Jeremiah 17:5-8 / 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 / Luke 6:17, 20-26

It is not too surprising to say that when we first came into this world, we were unhappy and even angry. 

We may not remember this, but going by what we know about babies when they were born, they were crying. 

So, babies came into this world crying, their eyes closed, their fists clenched, and of course stark naked. 

When they were in the womb, they were comfortable and warm and they felt secure. 

When the time came for them to be born, they came out naked into the cold air and bright lights and into a noisy world. 

So, for the new-born baby, it would be quite a shock, and hence, it would be unhappy and angry and crying away, although for the doctors and nurses, it was a good sign. 

That was how we came into the world, and ever since then we have been unhappy and angry, and we may not be crying out loud but we are complaining away. 

And maybe that is why in life, we are looking for happiness and comfort. 

We can’t go back to our mother's womb, but we look for happiness and comfort in the things of this world. 

So, we try to look for happiness and comfort in money, in possessions, in achievements, in rewards, in luxuries and even in people. 

But somehow, we don't seem to be able to find happiness and contentment. Even if we do, it is temporary and a fleeting moment. Happiness and contentment seem so elusive in life. 

In the gospel, Jesus gave a teaching about happiness and where it can be found. But somehow, we find it difficult to understand that way of happiness. 

How can we be happy and contented when we are poor and hungry? How can we be happy when we are weeping and being looked down upon by others?

Yes, it is difficult to see the meaning of the teaching of Jesus in the gospel. 

Yet, we must understand that happiness is a blessing from God. It is a blessing that the world cannot give. 

We need to listen to what the Lord God said in the 1streading: 

“A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope. He is like a tree by the water-side that trust its roots to the stream. When the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green. It has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.” 

In other words, the Lord is our blessing and as long as we keep our minds and hearts focused on the ways of the lord, we will receive His blessing. 

But it is also so easy for us to lose the blessings of the Lord and the Lord God has strong words as He says in the 1st reading: 

“A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on the things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord. He is like dry scrub in the wastelands. If good comes, he has no eyes for it, he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited.” 

So essentially, life is a choice between blessings and curses. 

When we came into this world we were unhappy and angry and crying aloud. 

We could have remained in this state but the Lord God called us to faith, and blessed us with His love, so that we can be truly happy and be contented. 

To be unhappy, to be angry, to be complaining about life, is a curse that we bring upon ourselves. 

But Jesus has broken that curse by teaching us the truth about happiness so that we can inherit God's blessings. 

Yes, God wants us to be happy, that is the truth. It is a blessing that He wants to grant us. 

May we rejoice and be happy with God's love, and may we be a blessing for others as well.

5th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 06.02.2022

 Isaiah 6:1-8 / 1 Cor 15:1-11 / Luke 5:1-11

No matter how clever or intelligent we are, there will be always be some things that we have no knowledge about. 

And often, the cleverer we are, the more proud we are likely to be, and we may even act like we know everything. 

And when we think that we are smarter or cleverer than others, then we may not be that open or receptive to other people's ideas or suggestions. 

And especially when we are stuck with our own ideas and thinking, then we have become like a wall, and we know what it feels like to talk to a wall. 

What really annoys and irritates us is when someone tells us how to do our work. And if that someone has no idea of what we are doing, then we are likely to choose a sharp and pointed response for that person. 

In the gospel, Jesus was at the lakeside of Gennesaret, and He got into one of the fishing boats so that He could teach the crowds that had gathered to listen to Him. 

When Jesus had finished teaching, He told Peter to put out into deep water and pay out the nets for a catch. 

Peter replied that they had worked hard all night and caught nothing, but nonetheless, he will do as Jesus told him to. 

That was a polite reply from Peter, but there was also a tone of underlying protest as he said that he had worked hard all night and caught nothing. 

And he would have quietly scoffed at the fact that a preacher would tell a fisherman how to catch fish. That was like crossing the line. 

But Peter did as Jesus told him, maybe because the crowd was watching, and there was nothing to gain from arguing or protesting. At least Peter was smart enough to know that. 

And with that astounding huge catch of fish, Peter was brought to his knees. 

Addressing Jesus as “Lord”, Peter realize that there are things in this world that are beyond logic and reason. 

He may know all about fishing, but that does not mean that the fishes are going to listen to him and do what he wants. 

Peter was humbled and kneeling before Jesus, he acknowledged that he was a sinner, and that also implied that he had thought that what Jesus said to him earlier was absurd. But now he knew he was wrong. 

The gospel passage teaches us that as much as we are endowed with intelligence and knowledge, that doesn't mean that we would know everything, or that we can decipher the ways of God. 

But what God wants of us is actually quite clear and that is to be humble, to be obedient and to be faithful to Him, and to love and respect others. 

No matter how clever or intelligent we are, people do not care about what we know until they know that we care about them. 

And may we use our intelligence and knowledge to speak to others in a way that they would love to listen to us. 

And may we also listen to others in a way that they would love to speak to us.