3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B, 18.04.2021

 Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 / 1 John 1:1-5 / Luke 24:35-48

As we come to the third Sunday of Easter, things have slowed down a bit, and in a way the excitement has also kind of faded off. 

On Easter Sunday, there was the empty tomb and people were running around excitedly. 

On the second Sunday of Easter, the Risen Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples, breathed on them in the Holy Spirit, and then He appeared again for Thomas and asked him to touch His wounds. 

On this third Sunday of Easter, the Risen Lord Jesus was still appearing to His disciples, but things were not as dramatic as compared to the previous two Sundays. 

As we heard in the gospel, Jesus had earlier appeared to two of His disciples, but they did not recognize Him until He broke the bread with them. 

And then when He appeared to the rest of His disciples, they were initially frightened, but as Jesus showed them His hands and feet, their fear turned to joy, but they still could not believe it and they stood there dumbfounded. 

Then Jesus made a rather amusing request. He asked them if there was anything to eat. 

They offered him a piece of grilled fish, which He took and ate before their eyes. 

That is rather amusing, because the Risen Lord Jesus, besides saying “Peace be with you”, the other thing that seemed to be on His mind was food. 

He broke the bread with the two disciples, and so it was over food that He revealed Himself, and then they recognized him. 

He took the grilled fish and ate before their eyes, and it was another revelation. 

Through an ordinary commodity like bread and an ordinary act of eating grilled fish, Jesus was telling His disciples that He is risen from the dead and that He is real and alive. 

So, if we were to ask the disciples what was their experience of the Risen Lord Jesus, they would say this: He showed us His wounds. He broke bread. He asked for food and He actually ate something. 

The first experience of seeing the wounds of the Risen Lord Jesus was dramatic and amazing enough. 

But it was the ordinary act of breaking bread and eating grilled fish that revealed the reality of the Risen Lord Jesus. 

So as Jesus sent the disciples to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins, they were to witness to Jesus not in dramatic or spectacular or amazing acts. 

Rather it is through the ordinary acts of life that they will bear witness and reveal Jesus to others.

There is this story of a group of salesmen who went to a regional sales convention. They had assured their families that they would be home in time for Friday night dinner. 

But the convention overran the time and they rushed to the airport and to the boarding gate. 

With boarding passes and briefcases and other stuff, one of the men accidently knocked over a table which held a display of apples. 

Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane just in time … all but one.

That man paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his colleagues to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. 

Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad that he did.

Because the girl selling the apples was blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as people rushed around her. 

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. 

As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take this money for the damage we did. Are you okay?” She nodded through her tears. 

As the salesman started to walk away, the blind girl called out to him, “Sir ….” He paused and turned to look back at the girl.

She continued, “Are you Jesus?” He stopped in mid-stride … and he wondered. He went back and said, “No, I am nothing like Jesus – He is good, kind, caring, loving and would never have bumped into your display in the first place.”

The girl gently nodded: “I only asked because I prayed for Jesus to help me gather the apples. He sent you to help me, so you are like Him – only He knows who will do His will. Thank you for hearing His call, Sir.”

Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight, with that question burning and bouncing about in his heart: “Are you Jesus?”

We witness to Jesus by being Jesus to others. We make Jesus real for others in the ordinary acts of kindness, compassion, generosity, patience and understanding. 

In a word, we witness to Jesus and make Him real for others by acts of love. 

So, like how the girl asked the salesman, “Are you Jesus?” let us ask ourselves, “Am I Jesus to others?” 

Let us ponder on that question and we will experience the Risen Lord Jesus for ourselves.

2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B, 11.04.2021

 Acts 4:32-35 / 1 John 5:1-6 / John 20:19-31

It has been one week since we celebrated the great feast of our faith, the feast of Easter, the feast of the Resurrection. 

Yes, it is the great feast of our faith, because we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, that He rose from the dead, conquering sin and death, and with that He brings us new life. 

That is what we profess as our faith, that the Risen Christ is our Lord and God, and in Him we too will renounce sin, reject the devil, profess our faith in God and live our lives as God's beloved children. 

In not so many words, it is “NO” to the devil and “YES” to God. That was expressed last Sunday as we renewed our baptismal promises by renouncing sin and the evil one and professing our faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

Well, one week has passed, and let us ask ourselves how we have been keeping up with our baptismal promises. 

Some may be a bit surprised and say, “Oh, I made a promise huh … Oops …”  Some may be rather realistic and say, “If promises are made to be broken, then I am sorry that I broke the promise.” 

Whatever it might be, the fact is that keeping a promise is easier said than done.

But breaking a promise of faith is not a light matter because it is expressed in unfaithfulness to God and wrongdoing to others. 

But thanks be to God for His faithful love for us and in His mercy He forgives us. 

This Sunday is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. In the gospel, we heard that the Risen Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples the Holy Spirit who is the love of God. 

Then, eight days later, the Risen Lord Jesus came back again, and this time it was for Thomas, who demanded to see the wounds of Jesus. 

Jesus did not reproach Thomas but showed him mercy and forgiveness. And Thomas responded with those five profound words: My Lord and my God. 

So, one week after the celebration of Easter, Jesus comes to us to breathe on us the Holy Spirit, the love of God, and to show us His five wounds, that express God's mercy and forgiveness.

There is a story of a little boy who went to visit his grandparents, and he was given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target.

As he came back to Grandma’s back yard, he saw her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit the duck squarely, and the duck fell dead.

The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to look up and see his sister Sally watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch that day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So, Johnny did the dishes.

Later, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help me make supper.” Sally smiled and said, “That’s all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it.” Again, she whispered, “Remember the duck.” So Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, finally he couldn’t stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he’d killed the duck.

“I know, Johnny,” she said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. But I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

Just a story to let us know that God is loving and merciful. We are weak, we have sinned, but we must renew daily our faith in God who is love & mercy. 

We repeat with St. Thomas those five profound words of faith “My Lord and my God” and we meditate on the five wounds of Jesus. 

May God's love and mercy that flow from the five wounds of Jesus grant us strength to overcome our sinfulness and to protect us from the snares of the evil one.

Easter Sunday, 04.04.21

  Acts 10:34, 37-43 / Colossians 3:1-4 / John 20:1-9

One year ago, and that is not that long ago, we may remember what Easter was like, or how we celebrated Easter. 

But if we can't remember what Easter was like or how it was celebrated last year, it is not because our memory has failed us.

Because last year, Easter came and went with churches closed and all religious activities were suspended. 

So, if we had no recollection of what Easter was like last year, it was because we didn't come to church at all; we couldn't come to church at all. 

And if we went online last year for the Easter Vigil Mass at the Cathedral, we will remember seeing the Archbishop with just one server walking into an empty Cathedral. That scene reflected the reality of the situation last year. 

Well, for this year, the situation is slightly lighter and brighter. We can come for Mass, although the numbers are still restricted. And there are several other things that we still can't do. 

Nonetheless, and over and above everything else, we want to give thanks to God for the reopening of churches and the resumption of religious activities. 

Oh yes, we rejoice that we can come to Church for Mass and for the celebration of Easter. 

The imagery of the stone being rolled away and the empty tomb is an image that we will remember for this Easter. 

Yes, the stone is rolled away, Christ is risen, and He wants to lift us up and to rise with Him in victory over sin and death. 

And with that, the stones covering the entrances of the churches are also rolled away so that the voices of prayer can be heard again with acclamations of “Alleluia!”. 

But we also must be aware that the stone can also roll back and cover the entrances of churches, if we are complacent and not compliant to the essential safety measures. 

But more than just complacency, we must also be conscious of those stones that are blocking the entrances of our hearts. 

The Risen Christ wants to roll away the stones of our hearts so that the light of His Resurrection can shine into our hearts and to scatter the darkness of sin and fear. 

Those stones must be rolled away so that the blood and water from His pierced side can flow into our hearts and renew our faith, strengthen our hope and deepen our love.

And that is why Easter is the time when we renew our Baptismal Promises, which is essentially to renounce sin and to be faithful to God. 

And after that we are sprinkled with Holy Water as a reminder of our Baptism in Christ. 

That brings us to a reflection of stone and water. In the encounter between flowing water and stones, the water always win, not by strength or by force, but by persistence and perseverance. 

And as the waters flow, the stones are smoothened and even polished, so much so, we can say that the waters have made the stones beautiful. 

Even if it is just dripping water, it will wear out the stone, and again, not by strength or by force, but by persistence and perseverance. 

The Book of Proverbs 21:1 has this line: The heart of the king is in the hands of the Lord. As the waters of the river, the Lord turns it wherever He wishes. 

So, may the waters that will be blessed and given out during this Easter celebration, soften our hearts and make it like living waters in the hands of the Risen Lord, so that we will always flow with the will of God. 

May these waters that remind us of our Baptism, also roll away the stones that are blocking our hearts, so that we will come out of the darkness of sin and fear, and rise in love and holiness with the Risen Lord Jesus.

Palm Sunday, Year B, 28.03.2021

 Isaiah 50:4-7 / Philippians 2:6-11 / Mark 14:1 -15:39

Today the Church begins Holy Week with Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday.

So, what is the correct title? Is it Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday? 

Well, it is both actually. At the beginning of the Mass, there is the blessing of the palm branches.

And then there is the long gospel narrative of the suffering and death of Jesus.

So, what does all these mean as we begin Holy Week and going on to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter?

With Palm Sunday, we begin the yearly journey, and it is journey not so much towards a destination, but a journey into a sacred time.

We follow Jesus to accomplish His Paschal Mystery, which is His suffering, death and Resurrection, or in simple terms, the saving mission of Jesus.

Jesus wants to save us from our sins and bring us closer to God. 

From the depths of human weakness and sinfulness, Jesus wants to lift us up to God and to live a life of holiness, a life that God has created us to live.

So, let us follow Jesus from the agony of the Cross to the glory of the Resurrection, and with the power of the Cross, may our faith be renewed and strengthened.

May the celebration of the sacred feasts also bring us God’s blessings and protection.

5th Sunday of Lent, Year B, 21.03.2021

 Jeremiah 31:31-34 / Hebrews 5:7-9 / John 12:20-33

When it comes to the basic needs of life, there is no need to refer to some theory of the hierarchy of needs to have an idea. 

We should know what the basic needs in life are. Essentially, they are food, clothing and shelter. We need food for sustenance, clothing for warmth and modesty, and a shelter that we can go home to. 

And when these needs are met, then what is next? And here it is where it may get a bit fuzzy. Because here is where needs and wants get a bit mixed up. 

When the basic needs in life are met, then what we may desire next is comfort and maybe even luxury. 

We may turn our attention to accumulating wealth so as to fulfil our desire for comfort and luxury. 

Well, the current situation that the world is facing has literally stripped us down to our bare essentials. 

All the wealth and prosperity, all the power and might, all the fame and fortune, all the science and technology, cannot guarantee the thing that we need most, and that is protection, and protection from a virus. 

So, what we need now is protection and safety, and it has to take a virus to make us realize that. 

So, safety and protection have become priorities for us, not just for us but for the world. 

So, we wear face masks, we avoid close contact, we get our vaccinations, we comply with contact tracing requirements, but still there can be no absolute guarantee. 

And that should make us realize that we must turn to God for safety and protection. Certainly God loves us and cares for us and He wants to protect us and keep us safe. 

And God only ask this of us, and that is to be humble and to obey. 

In the gospel, we hear Jesus saying, “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour?” 

Jesus was troubled, He was feeling afraid, He may even be in distress. This is a side of Jesus that we don't often see, but we also know how fear gripped Him in His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, that His sweat became like drops of blood. 

But then Jesus also said, “It was for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” 

So did God save Jesus and protected Him from suffering and death? 

The 2nd reading tells us that during His life on earth, Jesus offered up prayer and entreaty, to the One who had the power to save Him out of death, and He submitted so humbly that His prayer was heard. 

Although He was Son, Jesus learnt to obey through suffering, but having been made perfect, He became for all who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. 

So yes, we pray and ask God to protect us and keep us safe. And God is only asking two things from us, and that is to be humble and to be obedient. 

But to be humble and to be obedient goes against our human tendencies to be self-reliant and to think that we know better. 

There is this story of a man who went trekking. He wondered deep into the forest. But then he got lost and he tried to find his way back. 

It was getting dark and he was desperate and so he went on and on even when darkness had fallen. 

As he rushed on desperately in the darkness, he couldn't see what was ahead and he fell off the cliff. 

As he was falling, he tried to clutch at something and he managed to catch hold of a branch. 

As he hung on to the branch, he cried out, “Oh God, help me, help me!” And then he heard a voice saying, “You called me?” And the man said, “Oh Lord, is that you? Please save me!”

And the voice answered, “Yes I will. But you must do what I tell you.” And a man said, “Yes, yes, I will.” 

And the voice said, “Alright then, let go of the branch.” And there was silence. 

Now if we were that man, would we let go of the branch? Would we dare to trust in that voice, or would we trust in the branch and keep holding on to it? 

Well, as the story goes, the next morning, the rescuers saw a strange sight. The man was hanging on to the branch but he was frozen to death. And his feet were just a few inches from the ground. 

Well, just a story to let us know that letting go of our security is really difficult. 

But if we are humble and obedient to God and trust Him enough to let go, then we will fall not into empty darkness, but into the safety of God love. 

Jesus showed that to us through His Cross and Resurrection. In the cross is our safety and protection. May we also grow in humility and obedience.

4th Sunday of Lent, Year B, 14.03.2021

 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 / Ephesians 2:4-10 / John 3:14-21

It is not too far-fetched to say that there are many mysteries in life, and some of these mysteries are really baffling and remained as unsolved mysteries. 

So there are stories of amazing coincidences, strange encounters and many other stories that either make us wonder or make us puzzled. 

While some stories can be really amusing, there are also other stories that can be rather creepy and disturbing. 

However mysterious a story may be, the fact is that while we know some of the details, the rest of it have unanswered questions. 

Even in the Bible, there are many mysteries that can be classified as “unsolved cases”. 

We may have heard about Noah's Ark in the Bible. It must have been a rather big ship to be able to hold all those animals. 

So where did the ark land after the flood? Were there any remains of the ark that are still around? Probably there are no more remains, but there are some people who are still looking for the remains of that Noah's Ark. 

From Noah's Ark we go to the Ark of the Covenant that was carried by the Israelites for 40 years in the desert. 

In that Ark were the two tablets, the 10 Commandments, that Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai. It was a revered object as it was a sign of God's presence among His people in their journey through the desert. 

The question is, where is it now? Was it captured by the enemies and destroyed? Or was it hidden from the enemies and the information of its whereabouts is lost? 

Many stories surround its whereabouts and even movies were made about it. But whether it still exist, no one really knows. 

Today's Gospel presents yet another mystery. And that is the bronze serpent that Moses put on a standard. 

The story was that the people complained against God, and to punish them, God sent fiery serpents to bite them and many died from the serpents’ bites. 

The people repented, and God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a fiery serpent just had to look at it, at that bronze serpent, and he would be cured. 

Whether that bronze serpent still exists or not, is not so much of the question, as to why is it such a strange thing that God ask Moses to do. 

The question is that, why make an object or something that caused pain and death, and then that very object becomes the source of remedy. 

It is certainly one of those mysterious ways of God that we are still trying to comprehend. 

But that mystery maybe clearer when Jesus said: The Son of Man must be lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. 

When Jesus was nailed and lifted up on the cross, everybody thought that it was a tragic end. But with His Resurrection, the Cross became a sign of life and salvation. 

When Moses lifted up that bronze serpent, and when the people looked at it, they were reminded of their sins and punishment. 

It was only with repentance that they were cured. It was not the bronze serpent that cured them. Rather it was their repentance and God's mercy that cured them. 

When we look at the Cross, we are reminded that Jesus died to save us from our sins. 

Although it is said that our sins nailed Jesus to the Cross, but it was God's love that lifted Jesus high on the Cross. 

It was with Jesus on the Cross that God is proclaiming this: I love you. 

As the 2nd reading puts it: God loved us with so much love that He was generous with His mercy. When we were dead through our sins, He brought us to life with Christ, and raised us up with Him and gave us a place with Him in heaven. 

So the mystery of the Cross is this: it is a stumbling block, and foolishness for those who do not accept the cross. 

But for those who accept the Cross, it is the powerful love of God, a remedy for our sins, and a sign of salvation. 

If we want to be saved, let us carry our cross. If we want to love God and our neighbour, let us carry our cross. If we want to understand the mystery of life, let us carry our cross and follow Jesus.

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B, 07.03.2021

 Exodus 20:1-17 / 1 Cor 1:22-25 / John 2:13-25

One of the most fascinating objects in this world is art. For some of us, or maybe most of us, art is just a piece of drawing or painting. 

Some art pieces are beautiful, some are ordinary-looking, some are abstract, and some are just mysterious. 

What is so fascinating about art pieces is the price of some of the paintings. Art pieces in the museums are termed as “priceless” as those art pieces are deemed as a national treasures or heritage. They are for exhibition only. 

Art pieces in the art galleries are for sale and the price ranges from a few hundred dollars to a few million dollars. 

What is fascinating, and intriguing, is that why would people pay a huge sum of money for a piece of painting by some renowned artist?

When we look at paintings like the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, or “Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh, or paintings by Rembrandt and Picasso, we may wonder why the paintings are either priceless or so pricey. 

But let us listen to what some people say about art. 

“The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” (Aristotle) 

“Art is not what you see but what you make others see.” (Edgar Degas)

So, art speaks where words are unable to explain. In other words, art is like a sign. It points to something else much deeper. 

Those who understand the art or the painting and what it is pointing to, or its significance and deeper meaning, will be willing to pay the price for it. 

In the gospel is the account of the occasion when Jesus cleansed the temple. It was an act that certainly angered those who are doing business there and hence they asked Jesus, “What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?”

The reply of Jesus was astonishing, and in intriguing, when He said, “Destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up.” 

Of course, at that moment, no one really understood what Jesus meant, until much later after His Resurrection. 

It is like looking at a priceless painting and wondering why it is so valuable. But those who have the insight will be able to understand and see the significance and meaning. 

There is this story of a wealthy man and his son who loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works. 

Then the son was called up to go to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and he grieved deeply for his only son. 

Sometime later, that was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you and your love for art.”

The young man held out his package. “I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.” 

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by that young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting especially the son’s eyes. The father was so drawn to the eyes of his son in the painting. 

He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. “Oh no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It is a gift for you.” 

The father hung the portrait in the living room. Every time visitors came to his home, he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them the other works of art. 

Sometime later the father died. There was to be a great auction of his collection of paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. 

On the platform was the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?” 

There was silence. A voice from the crowd shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one!”

But the auctioneer persisted. “Will someone bid for this painting? $100, $200?” Another voice shouted angrily, “We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the valuable paintings.” 

But still the auctioneer continued, “The painting of the son, the painting of the son, who will take the painting of the son? 

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the man and his son. “I will give $10 for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

The crowd shouted, “Give it to him for $10!” The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted to see the more valuable paintings. 

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, going twice, sold for $10 to that gardener.” The crowd shouted, “Now let's get on with the collection.” 

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I'm sorry, but the auction is over.” “What about the paintings?” the crowd asked. 

“I'm sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the painting of the son gets everything.”

This story reminds us that God sent His only Son to save us by dying on the Cross.

The Cross is certainly not a piece of art or an ornament. 

It is a sign of God’s saving love for us in the person of Jesus.

When we truly embrace the Cross, then we will experience the power and the wisdom of God.

If we truly believe in the Son of God, we will take up our cross and follow Him from the agony of life to the glory of the Resurrection.