25th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 21.09.2025

 Amos 8:4-7 / 1 Tim 2:1-8 / Luke 16:1-13

To be deceived and to be cheated is certainly an unpleasant feeling, to say the least.

In deceiving and cheating, something wrong is done, and we resent and detest that wrong that is done to us. 

Also, in deceiving and cheating, something is lost. 

The loss can be in several forms. It can be a financial or a monetary loss, or a loss of property and belongings. 

Or it can be a loss of a relationship. When one party deceives or cheats the other party, the trust is broken, and the relationship is fractured and even shattered. 

And that is why we are not only wary of scammers, we are afraid of them, because they are brutal and ruthless. 

We may or may not hear their voices, or see their faces, but one thing is certain. 

They don't need to have our trust, nor would they even want to know us. 

They just want to bleed us, literally and figuratively, until we are as dry as the desert sands. 

In Singapore, the total scam losses for the first half of 2025 were approximately $450 million. 

In the gospel, Jesus told a parable about a dishonest steward who was found out by his master, and dismissed that dishonest steward.

Then that dishonest steward did an audacious thing by rewriting the accounts of his master's debtors. 

He did that so as to gain favour with his master's debtors, and also to have some security for the future. 

What is puzzling is when Jesus said this: The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. 

In other words, even the master who was cheated by that dishonest steward, was impressed by that dishonest steward’s keen insight and clever manipulation. 

But Jesus did not end there. He also said this: For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light. 

We may wonder what did Jesus mean when He said that. 

Jesus acknowledged that the children of the world are more astute, in that they are clever in reading people and quick to manipulate others to their advantage. 

But Jesus is also asking us, are we children of the world, or are we children of light? 

If we say, if we declare, that we are children of light, then we are children of God, then we follow the ways of God. 

We will not be impressed or influenced by the children of the world, to the so-called intelligent manipulating and scheming of the dishonest stewards of this world. 

Because we believe in the God of truth and justice, and the Lord says this in the 1st reading: Never will I forget a single thing you have done. 

Jesus also reminded us that the one who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great, and the one who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. 

As children of God, and as children of light, we carry the little lights of truth and love in our hearts, and we become living images of honesty and responsibility. 

In the Bible, there is a book called the Book of Numbers, and there is this story of a pagan prophet Balaam, who was enticed by the enemies of Israel with wealth, so as to put a curse on Israel.

God forbid him to lay a curse on Israel, but he defied God and rode on his donkey to discuss with the enemies of Israel, the curse that he would lay on Israel. 

On the journey, Balaam's donkey sees the angel of God with a sword in the hand blocking the path, but Balaam cannot see the angel. 

Three times the donkey saw the angel with a sword and tried to veer off the path to avoid the angel, but Balaam beats the donkey for doing so. 

Then, God opens the donkey's mouth, and it speaks to Balaam, rebuking him for his cruelty. 

Then, God opens Balaam's eyes, revealing the angel with the sword, and the angel said that it was the donkey who saved Balaam's life.

The angel then instructed Balaam to say only what God wants him to say, and that is to bless Israel. 

In this world, there are true prophets and false prophets, there are honest and dishonest stewards, there are children of the world and children of light. 

To be truthful and to be honest, the world may think that we are like donkeys who can be deceived and cheated. 

But may we be trusted with truthful and honest lives, and when we speak, may the children of the world begin to look at the light.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 14.09.2025

 Numbers 21:4-9 / Philippians 2:6-11 / John 3:13-17

Two pieces of wooden sticks may not have much meaning, other than resembling like chopsticks. 

But two pieces of wooden sticks placed at right angles to each other, may mean something, especially to Christians. 

When two pieces of wooden sticks are placed at right angles to each other, it may look like a “plus” sign. 

But for Christians, it will look like the easily identifiable Christian symbol of the Cross. 

The symbol of the Cross is the most common, as well as the most profound symbol of Christianity. 

It is also a sacred symbol, and it can be found on items and objects used for worship and for prayer. 

The symbol of the Cross is sacred primarily because Jesus Christ died on it. 

By His suffering and death on the Cross, Jesus saved us from our sins and conquered sin and death. 

The Cross which was meant to be an instrument of pain and death has become a sign of salvation because of Jesus Christ. 

Today, we the Church celebrates the triumph and exaltation of the Holy Cross. 

We proclaim Jesus is our Saviour, and we also obey His command to take up our cross and follow Him as His disciples. 

But the 1st reading gives a rather puzzling account of a bronze serpent on a standard. 

Preceding that, the people had spoken against God and Moses, and so as punishment, fiery serpents appeared and their bite caused suffering and death. 

The people repented, and asked Moses to intercede for them to the Lord to save them. 

The Lord instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a standard. 

Anyone who was bitten by a fiery serpent would just have to look at the bronze serpent on the standard and be saved. 

It is rather puzzling because the very thing that caused death has now become a means of salvation. 

That account in the 1st reading can be rather puzzling, but in it is the hidden mystery of the ways of God. 

Because in the gospel, when Jesus said that He must be lifted up just as Moses lifted up that bronze serpent, then that mystery is revealed. 

Jesus was lifted up on the Cross, and He fulfilled His mission as the Saviour, and the Cross has now become a symbol of salvation. 

A priest was sharing this story about the saving power of the Cross. 

A young man was disillusioned about his Christian faith, and so he went to a priest to say that he wanted to renounce his faith, and to have his baptism records revoked. 

The priest looked at the young man and told him that he will do as requested, on one condition. 

He asked the young man to follow him to the church, and there was a big crucifix behind the altar. 

The priest said to a young man, “Look at Jesus on the Cross and say this: You died for me and I don't care. 

The young man looked at the priest, and then looked at the Crucifix, and so he said, “You died for me and I don't care.”

The priest said to him, “Say that again with more conviction.” 

So, the young man said that again, “You died for me and I don't care.” 

The priest said, “Look straight at Jesus and say that again.” 

The young man said that again, but his voice began to quiver, and he lowered his eyes. 

The priest then said to the young man, “I would like to leave you alone for now. You can come to see me again anytime.” 

The priest who was sharing that story concluded with this: By the way, I was that young man. 

The saving power of the Cross is a deep and profound mystery. 

Because the Cross is the symbol of the love of God for us. 

God loved us so much that He gave us His only Son, so that we can be saved from our sins and have eternal life. 

So, let us take up the Cross, let us look at Jesus on the Cross.

Let us hold the Cross, for we are holding the hand of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Let us hold the Cross, in our pain, in our suffering and in our distress, for we are holding the hand of our Healer Jesus Christ.

Let us hold the Cross, and look at Jesus on the Cross and say:

Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. Help me to love You.

23rd Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 07.09.2025

 Wisdom 9:13-18 / Philemon 9-10, 12-17 / Luke 14:25-33

Human beings are intelligent beings, and they have the highest intelligence in the order of creation. 

With this intelligence, human beings have progressed and developed in leaps and bounds. 

In the area of science, human beings have made many discoveries in the understanding of nature through physics, chemistry and biology. 

In the area of technology, the living standards have improved tremendously and laborious time-consuming work is made easy. 

Yes, human intelligence has made life and work become easier. 

Life may have become easier, but the pace of life also seems to have gone faster, and we are somehow getting busier. 

It seems that human intelligence is focused on what is pragmatic, on what is efficient and on improvement. 

Even at the level of ordinary life, we use our intelligence to think about what is practical and pragmatic, as well as on development and improvement. 

In the gospel, Jesus gave us two examples that point to the thoughts of men. 

One is the building a tower, and the other is about going into battle. 

These two examples point to the desires of the human mind. 

We want to build towers to show the height of our achievements and successes. 

We also want to overcome any competition and opposition that gets into our way. 

We think that by building and conquering, we will be happy and contented. 

So, we will use our intelligence to achieve whatever we desire. 

These are our thoughts. But what does God think about this? 

The 1st reading tells us this: What man indeed can know the intentions of God? Who can know the will of God? 

The reasonings of mortals are unsure and our intentions are unstable. 

So, our thoughts may not be the same as the thoughts of God. 

And what we desire to do may not be what God wants us to do. 

So, instead of focusing on building and conquering, let us use our intelligence to do what God wants of us. 

There is a story of a young man who was trekking across the country and he came across a piece of barren land. 

Then he noticed a man walking around that piece of barren land with a metal tube in his hand. 

After every few steps, he would stop and poke the metal tube into the ground and drop something into the metal tube. 

The young traveller was curious so he came up to the man and asked what he was doing. 

The man replied: When I was younger, I worked as a lumberjack and made my money by cutting down big and tall trees. 

Then one day after cutting down a tree, I saw some seeds lying on the ground. I picked up those seeds, and then a thought came to my mind. 

I cut down trees, but who is going to plant trees? With that thought pressing on my mind, I gave up my lumberjack job, and I now go around planting seeds. 

I may not see them grow into big trees, but I am planting for the future. 

Many years later, that traveller came back to see that once barren land. 

It is now a flourishing land of young trees and plants, and with the melodious singing of birds.

So, instead of building towers and fighting to put down others, let us do some planting and sowing and growing. 

Let us plant and sow seeds of hope, and God will make them grow into trees that will bear fruits of love.

Let us ask the Spirit to grant us wisdom, so that God will guide our thoughts and teach us how to carry out His will. 

May we use our intelligence to know what is right and good and loving, so that our lives will be holy and that we will be happy.