2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-15 / Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 / Matthew 10:37-42
In life, there are decisions to make, and some decisions can be difficult.
Some decisions can be rather difficult to make because we can't be certain of the impact and the long-term consequences.
For example, signing a long-term contract or entering into a marriage needs careful consideration.
If a person chooses a profession and then later finds that there is no fulfillment or satisfaction with the job, then it would be quite a chore to go to work everyday.
Or when a couple enters into marriage and then finds that there are more disputes than delights, then the wedlock becomes a deadlock.
Just as we cannot predict the future, we also can't really determine the outcome of our decisions.
Because what we thought was a good decision may not be that good a decision after a while.
And what we thought was a bad decision may not be that bad after all.
But from the history of the past, we would have learned how to decide for the future, the future which is a mystery.
But in the Christian understanding, mystery is not something unknown or even scary.
Because faith is a mystery, and the mystery of faith is that God has revealed Himself and He keeps revealing Himself so that we will grow in faith.
And with faith, we will know what kind of decisions to make.
In the gospel, Jesus teaches us how to make decisions in life.
He tells us to decide for the cross, if we want to follow Him.
The cross does not seem appealing at first sight, and we rather avoid it.
But as Jesus said, if we want to save our life by avoiding the cross, then we are actually losing our life.
But when we accept the cross and carry it, then, as Jesus promised, we will find life in the cross.
Indeed, the cross is a mystery, but the cross has revealed God's love for us, and will keep revealing God's love for us, when we decide to carry it.
And we priests are to show you, the People of God, how to carry the cross in order to follow Jesus.
Because it is through the cross that the power of God's love is revealed.
In these 25 years of serving God as His priest, the cross has always been before me.
When I accept the cross, I also accept the blessings of life and love.
And as a priest, I'm called to share God's blessings of life and love with you, the People of God.
And I also know that when I carry the cross, I will be a blessing for the People of God.
But when I don't carry the cross, I will end up as a burnt offering.
So, I have learnt, and I'm still learning how to carry the cross and to be a blessing for others.
The lesson I learned is that in saying “Yes” to the cross and to carry it, the focus has to be on God's blessings.
The story goes that a king wanted to learn archery, and so he got the best archer to teach him.
When the king felt that he was skilled enough, he decided to go hunting to test his archery skills, and he brought his teacher along.
They went into the forest, and spotted a rabbit hopping out of the bush. The king quickly took out his bow and arrow and took aim.
Then a goat appeared, and the king thought that the goat would be an easier target and set his aim on the goat.
Then a deer ran past, and the king thought it would be more interesting to shoot a deer and shifted his aim once again.
Just when he was about to shoot, he spotted an eagle in the sky. He wanted to shoot the eagle but it flew away quickly.
By this time the rabbit, the goat and the deer had disappeared.
His teacher, the archer, witnessed all that, and he said to the king, “If you want to shoot your target accurately, you must decide on what you want, and you have to remain focused on it.”
In the gospel, Jesus tells us to take up our cross and to follow Him.
The cross is a blessing, the cross is about life, the cross is about love.
My dear People of God, as a priest, I will choose the cross and carry it, and I will focus on being God's blessings for you.
I pray that you too will choose the cross and carry it, and focus on God's blessing.
Let us be God's blessings for each other, and together let us be God's blessings for the Church and for the world.