16th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 20.07.2025

Genesis 18:1-10 / Colossians 1:24-28 / Luke 10:38-42

One of the things in life that creates problems for us is that we expect the expected. 

And because we expect what we are expecting, then we begin to imagine our expectations. 

Even if our imagination doesn't run that wild, we would already have built up our expectations. 

A story goes that with her birthday approaching, a woman was expecting a gift from her husband. 

She wanted a specific gift, a diamond necklace, and so she hinted to her husband that she had a dream, that she received a diamond necklace for her birthday. 

The husband replied, “We will see” and then he went to work. 

That day the wife kept imagining and dreaming about the diamond necklace. 

In the evening, the husband came back from work with a parcel and gave it to his wife. 

The wife was so excited and she quickly opened up the parcel. 

In it was a book, and the title is: The meaning of dreams. 

In life, we spend quite a bit of time dreaming and imagining our expectations. 

Although there is this saying, “Expect the unexpected”, the reality is that we expect the expected. 

In other words, we want life to happen the way we expect it to happen. 

And when it doesn't, then we get flustered and frustrated. 

So, actually, we created our own problems with our own expectations. 

In the gospel, when Martha welcomed to Jesus into her home, she had expected Mary, her sister, to help in the serving. 

But when Mary sat at the Lord's feet, listening to Him speaking, Martha became distracted. 

So, Martha complained to Jesus, and she expected Him to tell Mary to help out in the serving. 

The reply of Jesus was rather unexpected, and caught Martha by surprise, and it would also make us think. 

We too worry and fret about so many things because we have high expectations of others. 

From our children we expect academic excellence.

From our parents, we expect our share of the inheritance. 

From our spouse, we expect dedication and affection. 

From our superiors, we expect understanding and compassion. 

From our subordinates, we expect agreement and compliance. 

And from God we expect providence. 

So instead of saying “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”, it becomes “Listen Lord, your servant is speaking”. 

In the 1st reading the Lord appeared to Abraham, but not in the usual way that Abraham expected. 

Abraham had been expecting the fulfillment of the promise of God for a son. 

Then that day, when he was sitting at the entrance of his tent at the hottest time of the day, he saw three men nearby. 

They appeared unexpectedly, and they came at an unexpected time, which is the hottest time of the day. 

Still, Abraham got up and welcome them, and in doing so, God answered Abraham's prayer and fulfilled His promise. 

But it was so unexpected, and certainly not in a way Abraham expected. 

The 2nd reading would call it the mysterious ways of God, His ways which are beyond human understanding and expectation. 

So, when unexpected events happen, when unexpected people come our way, and all that happening at an unexpected time, let us not worry and fret. 

Let us look and listen to what the Lord Jesus is saying and showing us. 

And let us remember that spiritual saying: Peace begins when expectation ends.

Whether we are expecting the expected, or expecting the unexpected, let us know what it is that we really want and what we are really longing for.

What we long for, what we really want, is peace in our hearts.

We don’t want to waste our lives burning away with worry and fret.

We don’t want to waste our time expecting this or expecting that.

We want peace. And peace begins when expectation ends.

15th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 13.07.2025

 Deuteronomy 30:10-14 / Colossians 1:15-20 / Luke 10:25-37

The word “convenient” is a nice sounding word, and with it comes certain expectations. 

Convenient means that the situation or the circumstances fit well into our needs, into our schedules and into our plans. 

Convenient may also mean involving little trouble or effort. 

And we like it when life has its conveniences and makes us comfortable. 

Just think about the 24-hour convenience stores that are also conveniently located. 

If we ever need something like an instant meal or some common grocery at an odd hour, those convenient stores would probably have what we are looking for. 

And in our country, we are spoiled with convenience. 

There are those 24-hour petrol stations, 24-hour food outlets and 24-hour department stores. 

So, it is like whatever we want and whenever we want it, it is conveniently there for us. 

All these conveniences of life, however, create an attitude in us. 

It makes us take things for granted and feel entitled.

In the gospel, a lawyer wanted to disconcert Jesus, and he asked Him about what needs to be done to inherit eternal life. 

The lawyer wanted to unsettle Jesus. Since he was a lawyer, Jesus asked him about what is written in the Law. 

And the lawyer was precise: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart come up with all your soul, with all the strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.

But the lawyer still didn't let go, and was anxious to justify himself, and so he asked a rather questionable question: And who is my neighbour. 

And out of the lips of Jesus, came this beautiful parable of what is commonly known as the parable of the Good Samaritan. 

More than just a Good Samaritan, he can also be called a Strange Samaritan. 

Like the priest and the Levite, he also can be excused for not helping the injured man. 

The priest and the Levite had to keep themselves ritually clean for their religious duties, and cannot be defiled with blood. 

Samaritans and Jews had a hostility towards each other, so the Samaritan was not obligated at all to help the injured man. 

But whether it was the priest, or the Levite or the Samaritan, there is no doubt that it would be very inconvenient to help the injured man. 

But as the parable shows us, the response to inconvenience is compassion. 

The Samaritan traveller was moved with compassion when he saw the injured man. 

The Samaritan could have gone the way of convenience, and looked away, and walked away. 

But he looked at the injured man, and he was moved with compassion towards him. 

In a world where we go with convenience and what is convenient, we may not want to think about compassion. 

As we heard in the parable, to be moved by compassion would mean that it is going to be inconvenient, is going to be troublesome, and we may even have to fork out money to pay for someone else's problem. 

And it is also not convenient to be a Christian. 

Just as the Samaritan is commonly called “good”, we too have an adjective before our religious identity, and that is “compassionate Catholic”. 

The second reading says that Jesus is the image of the unseen God, and we are the image of the compassion of Christ. 

In the first reading, Moses tells the people that God's Word is very near to them, it is in their mouths, it is in their hearts, for their observance. 

So is the compassion of Christ. It is in our heart, in our soul, in our mind and in our strength.

It was compassion that moved the Samaritan. 

It is the compassion of Christ that will also move us. 

May the compassion of Christ move us away from our desire for convenience and for what is convenient. 

And may the compassion of Christ move us to be compassionate and loving, and to look at that neighbour whom we have been conveniently avoiding.

14th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 06.07.2025

 Isaiah 66:10-14 / Galatians 6:14-18 / Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

We have heard of the Seven Wonders of the world, or to be exact, the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. 

Of these seven wonders of the ancient world, only one remained, and that is the Great Pyramids in Egypt. 

The other six wonders exist only as drawings of artists’ imagination. 

Following after the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, now there are more wonders. 

So, there are wonders of the modern world, wonders of the technological world, the wonders of the scientific world, the wonders of the industrial world. 

While each may be a wonder of its own, the common factor about all of them is that they are man-made. 

Mankind, as well as individuals of the human race, have this tendency to make a name for themselves, as well as to leave a legacy behind. 

Even though they came into this world with nothing, and will leave this world with nothing, yet somehow, they want to leave something behind. 

Some want to conquer and build empires so that their names will be remembered. 

Some want to be ultra rich and have buildings and businesses named after them. 

Some want to be popular and famous, so that their names will be echoed into the future. 

In the end, it is about wanting to make a name for themselves, so as to be remembered. 

But like the wonders of the ancient world, or even like the wonders of this present world, it will be a name without a memory, and a name without a legacy. 

In the gospel, Jesus sent 72 disciples out for mission as labourers in the Lord's harvest. 

The 72 disciples were not named, but we know what they were told to do. 

They were to bring peace to whatever house they go into. 

They were to cure the sick and to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. 

The disciples came back rejoicing and reported to Jesus that even the devils submit to them when they call upon His name. 

Jesus affirmed them, and then He said: Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you. Rejoice rather than your names are written in heaven. 

The disciples did wonderful work, but they could also be tempted to be a wonder in themselves, and make a name for themselves. 

What is important is not to make a name for ourselves on earth. 

Jesus will write our names in heaven when we do what He tells us. 

Like the 72 disciples, we are to bring the peace of Jesus to wherever we go. 

For those in pain and suffering, we bring comfort and healing with the power of the Good News of God's Kingdom. 

And we have to believe that this peace and power are already given to us by Jesus. 

We just have to be what He wants us to be, and we don't have to try too hard to be wonderful. 

There is a story of the wind having a discussion with the sun about who is stronger. 

The wind saw a man with a coat, and the wind said to the sun: I will blow the coat off the man. 

So, the wind blew with all its might, but the more it blew, the tighter the man clung on to his coat. 

So, the wind gave up and said to the sun: Now you try to take off his coat. 

Without a word, the sun just shined brightly, and the man felt warm, and so he naturally took off his coat. 

Very often, we just have to believe who we are because of Jesus who is with us, and we will naturally bring peace to others.

We are like a lighted candle. We don't have to tell others we are shining. 

It is enough to be the light of Christ shining in the darkness, and bringing peace and hope for others. 

A priest asked a parishioner, what does she expect of the Church. 

Her reply is this: I want a simple and a quiet Church, a Church where I can pray and be at peace, a Church where I am strengthened by the gentle power of Jesus Christ. 

Let us be that Church, a Church of peace and prayer, a Church that is like a lighted candle shining quietly in the darkness. 

A Church that is wonderful because we proclaim the name of Jesus.