Holy Family, 28.12.2019

Ecclesiasticus 3:2-6 / Colossians 3:12-21 / Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
As the year 2019 come to a close in a couple of days’ time, prominent news agencies have already made a review of what are the top news of the year, i.e. the most read and the most watched news.)

Certainly, there are much top news both in the international scene and on the local scene.

There are just so much news flooding the air waves and on our mobile screens every day, and the news come by the hour, and maybe even by the minute. 

But if we were to take a moment and ask ourselves, what is the news that had an impact in our lives, we may have to think for a while.

Of course, we may have our own pick of what is the top news of 2019, but how a piece of news has an impact on us depends very much on one thing.

And that is how much we are affected by it and how it unites us closer to one another. In other words, the impact of a piece of news on a group of people, regardless of whether good or bad, depends on its unifying effect. 


We the church, may remember certain events of 2019 that united us in solidarity.

We may remember that in April this year, there were two tragedies that happened. One was the raging fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. The other was the Sri Lanka church bombing.

Both events had an impact on us and although there is nothing much that we can do about it, in an emotional sense, it made us feel united as a family in the faith. It was like a family tragedy.

On this feast of the Holy Family, the gospel passage had the spotlight on Joseph.

The gospels have no quotes from him and he seems to be that silent father-figure whose actions spoke louder than words.

But if we were to ask Joseph, what were the events that had an impact on him and changed his life, he would have quite a list to share.

Firstly, after a dream in which he had a vision of an angel telling him what to do, he took Mary home to be his wife.

Then he and Mary had to go to Bethlehem for the census. It was there that Jesus was born and since there was no room, the infant Jesus was laid in a manger.

And then another dream, and he had to take Mary and the Child to flee to Egypt in order to escape from King Herod who wanted to kill the Child.

After Herod’s death, came another dream, and he brought Mary and Jesus back to Israel, but as there was still danger in Judaea, he brought them to Galilee and settled in a town called Nazareth.

Those were not just mere impactful events. Those were crisis moments and life-endangering moments. But those were moments that Joseph remembers. Those were also moments that he showed his true character and also brought the family together.

So today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. They are called the “Holy Family” and not the “Happy Family”, or the “Lucky Family”, or “Healthy Family”.

They are the Holy Family because in dangerous crisis moments, they stayed together in faith and love and they gave us a model of what a family should be.

The top news of 2019 would probably not have anything about the family. The world-changing events do not seem to have anything to do with our families.

But it is said, and very profoundly so, that if you want to change the world, go back home and love your family (St Mother Teresa).

It is love that can change the world and it has to start with the family. 

And usually it is in dangerous crisis moments that family love and unity is built, as the following story will show us.   

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.

The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together. They had quills, but the quills of each wounded the closest companion. 

After a while, they decided to distance themselves, and they began to die, alone and frozen.

So they had to make a choice: Either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by their close relationships because the most important part was the heat that came from the others. With that, they were able to survive.

For a family to stay together there are two things that are necessary: pray together and to eat together.

That is what the Mass is about – as God’s family, we come to pray together and to partake of Holy Communion so that we can become like the Holy Family.

The Holy Family won’t be featured as the top news of 2019. Nor will the family that prays together and eats together and stays together make any waves in the news.

But it is not the news that changes the world. It is the simple and humble family that will change the world. 

And the family can change the world by simply praying together, eating together and staying together. 

4th Sunday of Advent, Year A, 22.12.2019

Isaiah 7:10-14 / Romans 1:1-7 / Matthew 1:18-25
As we come to the last few couple of days before Christmas, our thoughts are on many things.

It may be about the presents we have prepared for our loved ones, the parties that we will be attending, the food that we will be eating, the weight that we will be gaining.

In our minds are many thoughts. But in our hearts, there is one longing, and it is that we want to be home for Christmas. As it is often said: Home is where the heart is.

And there is even a song that goes “I’ll be home for Christmas”.

Already quite a number of people have wished me “Merry Christmas” in advance because they will be going back to their own countries to be home for Christmas.

Anyway who doesn’t want to be home for Christmas. As the song goes: I’ll be home for Christmas. And for those who can’t be home for Christmas, then they can only dream about being home for Christmas.

But besides the time of Christmas, thoughts of home give us a warm and nice feeling.

Because home is where we feel secure and where we can be ourselves. Home is our refuge and our shelter from the cold hard world.

Home is private space and not open space. We don’t really welcome a stranger to our home, nor can we treat other people’s homes like ours, even though they may say “make yourselves at home” (say only).

The Christmas story is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and the gospel begins with this line “This  is how Jesus Christ came to be born”.

But after that was an incredible story: Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but then she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph thought of divorcing Mary, and then an angel appeared in his dream and then Joseph woke up he did what the angel told him to do. It was really an incredible story.

But the most incredible thing in this is that Jesus, the Son of God, left His home in heaven to make His home in the immaculate womb of Mary, and He also needs a place to call home.

And so it was Joseph, the man of honour, after that dream in which the angel appeared to him, made that important decision of taking Mary to his home. And with that, Jesus, the “God-is-with-us”, is now at home with us.

Truly the Christmas story is a dramatic story about how the Son of God made His home with us.

There are many stories about being home for Christmas. But looking for a movie with that “home for Christmas” theme, what we will get is “Home Alone” and the two other sequels.

I accidentally came upon this movie although it is not a movie about being home for Christmas. The title of the movie is “The Way Home”. It is a 2002 Korean movie and we can watch that movie with English subtitles on the Internet.

The story is about a 7 year-old boy from the city whose mother had to be away to look for a job and so took him to live with his 78 year-old, mute but not deaf, grandmother who lived in a remote and rural village.

That 7 year-old boy came with his junk food and electronic toys and had not desired to stay with nor respect his grandmother, especially as her house has neither electricity nor running water.

Alone with his grandmother, the boy ignores her and calls her names and detested her.
When his Game Boy ran out of batteries, he pestered his grandmother for money to buy batteries, and when she couldn’t give him money, the boy caused havoc in the house.
One day the boy demands Kentucky Fried Chicken. The grandmother only understood “chicken” and so she took some melons from her little garden and trudges off to the market to buy a chicken. Bringing back a live chicken in the rain, she prepares a home-made boiled chicken instead of fried chicken. The boy sees the boiled chicken and got angry and threw it away.

The boy remains angry and confused by the unfamiliar environment and repeatedly rejects his grandmother’s attempts to appease him. But her unconditional love slowly touches his heart. One day, the boy gets up early and goes with his grandmother to the market where he sees how hard his grandmother persuades passers-by to buy her vegetables.

Eventually the boy begins to love his grandmother, but because she is unable to read or write, he makes some simple greeting cards, so that she has some letters from him. His depth of love for his grandmother is revealed when he has to leave and he bid his grandmother a tearful farewell.
The film closes with the grandmother continuing to live alone in the thatched-roof house but with the letters of love from her grandson.

The movie is not about Christmas, but as the title goes “The Way Home”, it is about how an arrogant young boy found his way home and it was his 78 year-old mute grandmother who showed him the way. It is a very touching movie, and we can watch as a family or alone. 

It may make us think about how Jesus came to be with us and to make His home among us, but what He faced was rejection and persecution.

It may make us think about our family relationships. We may stay in the same house but is it a home where there is kindness and forgiveness, understanding and patience?

If home is where the heart is, then let charity and the spirit of Christmas begin at home.

We turn to Joseph, who gave us this courageous example of taking Mary to his home and thereby letting Jesus be part of his life.

May we also let Jesus make His home with us this Christmas.  

3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A, 15.12.2019

Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 / James 5:7-10 / Matthew 11:2-11
Life is like a cycle with its ups and downs. And if life is like a cycle, then nothing is stable in the sense that life is not a straight line. 

Because if life is a straight line, then it may seem that there is no more life. So in the cycle of life we may find ourselves sometimes at the upper half and sometimes at the lower half.

So, one month ago, we remember our departed loved ones. This month we prepare for the celebration of birth and new life.

Only last month we were complaining how hot and dry it was, and one month later we are saying how cold and wet it is. 

One month ago, the students were stressed out by their exams. And one month later, they are posting photos of places that they are having holidays.

So life is indeed like a cycle of ups and downs, and these cycles can be so quick, such that it can be said that what a difference a day makes, or what a difference a week makes, or what a difference a month makes.
And in the gospel, we can also see how quickly things can change.

Just last week, we heard of John the Baptist preaching and baptizing in the wide open spaces of the wilderness.

He was on fire as he called the people to repentance, spoke against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He was like thunder and lightning.

But in this week’s gospel, we see a very different picture of John the Baptist. Reduced to the shackles and darkness of his prison cell, he was disturbed by doubts.

Still he managed to contact his disciples and sent them to ask Jesus this question: Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?

John the Baptist had expected the one to come to be serious business. If he was thunder and lightning, then he expected the one to come to be like fire and brimstone.

He thought that the one who is to come would be like an axe that would chop down trees bearing rotten fruit and a winnowing fan that will gather the chaff and throw them into the fire that will never go out.

But in the darkness of the prison, he was disturbed and he doubted. So that Jesus, is he or is he not the one?

Maybe it was a question of expectations, and John the Baptist did not expect Jesus to be like that.

To that question of John the Baptist, Jesus did not give a direct answer. Rather, he replied with this: Go back and tell John what you hear and see – the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor. And happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.

That’s the same with us too. When people or situations go against our expectations, we too get disturbed.

We too need to see and hear so that we can understand the reality and not what we think or expect it to be.

A teenage boy and his father got into a train and the boy took the window seat and he seems to be enjoying the travel and the nature, as if he is seeing it for the first time. 

Once the train started moving, the boy started shouting at what he was seeing outside the window.
“Dad, see these trees are moving to the back,” His father just gave a smile.

A young couple sitting nearby this boy looked at his childlike behaviour and started talking between themselves about that boy. 

Suddenly, again the boy called his father with an excitement and said, “Dad, see the clouds are running with us.” Again the dad smiled and kept quiet.

The young couple couldn’t understand why this boy was talking like this, and so they asked his father who is sitting nearby, “Why don’t you take your son to a hospital to have a good check-up?”

The father gave a smile and replied, “We just came from the hospital.” And he also added that his son was blind from the birth, and  he just got his eyes yesterday and this is the first time he is seeing the world. The young couple was stumped when they heard that.

So we may have our expectations in life. We may expect life to be quiet and comfortable, like the young couple in the train.

But when we get disturbed, let us see and hear what God is showing and telling us.

In the cycle of life, a dark disturbance comes before a bright revelation. 

That is the cycle of life. So when we get disturbed, let us not fret and complain. 

Because in the cycle of life, a disturbance comes before a revelation.

Let us see and let us hear with open hearts and the Good News will be revealed to us. 

2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A 08.12.19

Isaiah 11:1-10 / Romans 15:4-9 / Matthew 3:1-12
This time of the year is often called “Christmas Shopping” time. And the advertisements on all media platforms are making us go to the shopping malls (or online shopping) to get something.

But if it is Christmas shopping here, then in other places, there is what is called “Christmas Chopping”.
Because in countries where there are evergreens like the fir and pine trees, there is “Christmas Chopping” as these trees are chopped and exported all over the world to those who want a real tree for Christmas.

So even in Singapore, we can get a real tree for Christmas if we want to, although it is a chopped down one.
Of course, a real tree is somehow more “credible” than a fake tree. A real tree has a nice scent and real look, whereas a fake tree is plastic and with tinsel and fake snow.

There is one person who is rather interested in trees, regardless of whether they are real or fake.
He also usually comes around this time of the year. But we won’t find him in the media advertisements nor will he appear in our Christmas decorations or even in the Nativity scene.

So obviously, we are not talking about Santa Claus or some celebrity. He looks like a misfit for the season, wearing a garment made of camel hair and a rough leather belt round his waist.

He does not eat turkey and ham, but locust and wild honey. He does not say “Season’s greetings’ but “Repent!” He is such an odd figure for this season.

But needing no introduction, and with serious business, is John the Baptist. He is an uncomfortable figure in the midst of the festive mood and decorations.

John the Baptist looks at our Christmas trees, whether real or fake, and then he says: Any tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

And we know what he is talking about – the trees of our lives, and whether we are bearing real good fruit, or bad rotten fruit. 

And with that, we will understand his message about repentance in these days of Advent. Because without repentance, there can be no real good fruit.

Without repentance during Advent, our Christmas is going to be plastic and tinsel.

As we listen to the call for repentance, let us bring before Jesus the trees of our lives and to let Jesus cut off all that is rotten and bad, so that we can truly realise what is real and good.

There is this story that once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up.
The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: “I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I’ll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!”

The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean, and said, “I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I’ll be the strongest ship in the world!”

The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. “I don’t want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they’ll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world.”

Years passed, and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain.
The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, “This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me.” With a swing of his axe, the first tree fell.
“Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest. I shall hold wonderful treasure!” the first tree said.

The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, “This tree is strong. It is perfect for me.” With a swing of his axe, the second tree fell.
“Now I shall sail mighty waters!” thought the second tree. “I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!”

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven.
But the woodcutter never even looked up. “Any kind of tree will do for me,” he muttered. With a swing of his axe, the third tree fell. 

The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter’s shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feedbox for animals.
The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, nor with treasure. She was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.

The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead, the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail on an ocean, or even a river; instead, she was taken to a little lake.

The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard.
“What happened?” the once tall tree wondered. “All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God...”

Many, many days and night passed. The three trees had forgotten their dreams.
But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feedbox.
“We wish we could make a cradle for him,” the parents whispered to each other, but they also said, “But this manger is beautiful.”
And suddenly the first tree knew she was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveller and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveller fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake.
Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through with the wind and the rain.
The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, “Peace.” The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun.
And suddenly the second tree knew she was carrying the king of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man’s hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel.
But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth tremble with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God’s love had changed everything.
It had made the third tree strong.
And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God.
That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

So the next time we feel angry and disappointed because we didn’t get what we want, let us stand firm in faith and believe that God has something better to give us.

But we must also let Jesus cut off what is rotten  and bad in our lives, so that we can bear real good fruit, fruit that we offer to Jesus and to others.

1st Sunday of Advent, Year A, 01.12.2019

Isaiah 2:1-5 / Romans 13:11-14 / Matthew 24:37-44
We have come to the first day of the month of December. This is the first day of the last month of the year. And looking at the next 31 days, we can expect a busy busy time ahead. 

But first things first, we need to look for those Christmas decorations. It’s only 25 days to Christmas and we better get started with the decorations.

But things are not going to be so straightforward and we have to be prepared for that. 

Even as we put up that outdoor Nativity scene and the Christmas tree, there were some issues. Some lights didn’t work, some parts don’t fit, and some things were missing.

So when we are putting up the decorations at home or in office, and if we find the top half of the Christmas tree and the bottom half is missing, then we just have to settle for a miniature Christmas tree.

And if we find the bottom half but the top half is missing or have a problem, then maybe we have to settle for a Christmas bush. We can still have the lights on it and do something creative out of it. 

Whatever it might be, the age-old wisdom saying tells us to “expect the unexpected”.

Yes, we have to expect the unexpected, not just in putting up Christmas decorations, but expect the unexpected as we put up our lives expectations.

Certainly we have expectations in life. We expect to have a white and bright Christmas, our children to do well in school, to get a big fat year-end bonus, and all in all we expect to have a good life.

But will that be so? Are we prepared to expect the unexpected?

And are we listening to what Jesus is saying in the gospel, that we are to stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that we do not expect?

And Jesus makes us recall the story of Noah. Before the Flood, people were eating and drinking, taking wives and husbands, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark and they suspected nothing, till the Flood came and swept them all away.

Added to that is also the image of a burglar in the night. These are uncomfortable and disturbing images. That is not what we expect to hear as we begin this festive and holiday month of December.

But that is not bad news as we might be inclined to think. In telling us to stand ready and to expect the unexpected, and to look and think deeper about the things around us, Jesus is telling us this:
That in preparing to expect the unexpected, we can be open to the God of surprises, the God of joyful surprises.

One of the decorative plants for the coming festive season is the Poinsettia. The plant’s colours of red and green make it a pretty decorative plant for Christmas.

There is a story behind the popularity of this plant for this season. 

There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give to the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked to the church sadly, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.
He said, “Pepita, I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves Jesus will make Him happy."

Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus. 

As she walked through the church to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the Nativity scene. 

Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red colours, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flowers of the Holy Night'. 

The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes seen as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent His purity.

So as we hear this story, maybe we are expecting to hear of a miracle, a happy ending, and indeed it was a happy ending. So it was up to our expectations. But is there anything that was unexpected?

The poinsettia is actually a weed that grows in the ditches and wild places of South America and Mexico. Because this lowly, common plant became so striking around Christmas each year it has been used to celebrate the holiday in South America for centuries.

The poinsettia is well-known not for its flowers but for its brilliantly colored leaves. The flowers themselves are “unremarkable”, but the top-most leaves change to colours of red, pink, coral or white as the days get darker and shorter.

And that is rather unexpected isn’t it? So it is not so much the flowers, which usually get the attention, but rather it is the leaves that are attractive.

And that is the pleasant surprise, because not only a lowly weed was elevated to such a high status, it is not so much the flowers but the leaves that catch the attention.

So as we begin the season of Advent, let us find time to be still and to be quiet, so that we can be prepared for the unexpected pleasant surprises that Jesus wants to give us. 

It is these unexpected pleasant surprises, like how the poinsettia leaves turn from green to red, that we can believe that swords will be turn into ploughshares, spears into sickles, the profane into the profound, the secular into the sacred, as we begin our Advent preparation.

Christ the King, Year C, 24.11.2019

2 Samuel 5:1-3 / Colossians 1:11-20 / Luke 23:35-43
The brain is without doubt one of the most important organs in the human being. Not just for human beings, but for most creatures as well.

But as much as the brain is an important organ in a human person, it does not mean that men and women think alike.

We should know by now that men and women have different thoughts about the same thing. They may be looking for a car, and men will look at the engine and the techy stuff. The women on the other hand will look at the colour, the shape and the feel of the seats, etc.

So men’s thoughts are certainly different from women’s thoughts. And also men’s memory is certainly different from women’s memory.

It is said that women always worry about the things that men forget, and men always worry about the things that women remember. (Albert Einstein).

Oh yes, men tend to forget about birthdays (but not their own), wedding anniversaries, their children’s age and other important dates and events.

Women on the other hand, remember things for even as long as 10, 20, 30 or 40 years ago.

An elderly gentleman was having dinner with an elderly couple, and when the wife went to the kitchen, he asked his friend, “Even after being married for 70 years, you still call your wife ‘honey’, ‘sweetheart’, ‘darling’. What’s the secret?”

His friend replied, “To tell you the truth, I forgot her name about 10 years ago, and I am too scared to ask her!”

Yes, men forget too many things, and women remember too many things.

But what about Jesus then? He is God but He is also a man. So does He forget a lot of things, like other men do?

But since Jesus is God, and God created women, as well as their brains and memories, does He remember a lot of things like women do?

Whatever it might be, we can say that Jesus chooses what to remember and what not to remember.

Jesus chooses not to remember our sins when we ask Him for forgiveness. There is this story that a religious nun told a priest about her visions and conversations with Jesus. So the priest said to her, “The next time when Jesus appears to you, ask Him what was my greatest sin.”

A week later, the nun came to see the priest again, and so he asked her, “Did you ask Jesus what was my greatest sin?” The nun replied, “Oh yes, I did ask Jesus, and He told me that He does not remember it because He forgave you that sin.”

That was a smart answer. But that is also the truth. Jesus does not remember our sins whenever we ask for forgiveness.

And that is one thing that we must believe about Jesus the King of mercy and forgiveness. And when we say that we forgive, we are not expected to forget, but at the same time, we choose not to remember the pain and the hurt. When we choose not to remember that, then healing can begin.

So Jesus chooses not to remember our sins because He wants to forgive us and heal us with His mercy.

But Jesus also remembers. He remembers those who turn to Him to ask for mercy and forgiveness.


In the gospel, the good thief defended the innocence of Jesus. And he also made this astonishing request: Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom. 

It was an astonishing request because the inscription on the cross that read “This is the King of the Jews” was meant to mock Jesus.

But the good thief not only defended the innocence of Jesus, but recognised Him as a King when he said: Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.

And Jesus replied with: Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.

The good thief had done wrong, and he admitted it, but Jesus chose not to remember his sins. Rather, He chose to remember His promise to that good thief to bring him to paradise.

The good thief implored Jesus to remember him, and Jesus did.

The good thief actually taught us how to pray to Jesus, by asking Him to remember.

Jesus, the King of love and mercy will remember us when we ask Him to.

Jesus will not want to remember us for our sins. But He will remember us when we turn to Him with a simple prayer like how the good thief prayed: Jesus, remember me, when You come into Your kingdom.

33rd Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 17.11.2019

Malachi 3:19-20 / 2 Thess 3:7-12 / Luke 21:5-19
If we ever need a reason to get a new luggage and winter clothing, then now is the time to get it. Because there are sales and sales at every shopping mall and every other shop.

But there is a reason behind the sales of luggage and winter-clothing. And that’s because the school holidays have begun, and it is like an exodus from the country to some exotic place, where it is cold and with snow, that is why the winter clothing and luggage.

Even going to a usually dry and hot place like the Holy Land would require some warm clothing, especially during this time of the year.

And if we have not made any holiday plans yet, then we can consider going there. It is not that far, not that very expensive, quite safe, and we can end up being quite holy as well.

And while we are there, we can also check out some of the holy sites. One of the holy sites that the tour guide will bring us to will be the site where the Temple of Jerusalem was.

There we will see for ourselves what Jesus meant  by “not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.”

There was nothing significant left of the Temple. There is not a trace of the fine stonework and votive offering that the people in the gospel were admiring.

Furthermore, on that very site is another building, so that Temple of Jerusalem, and what it was like, is left to our imagination.

However, there is something of the Temple that is still existing, and survived the destruction and the test of time.

As we ponder on what that is, when it comes to destruction, and the test of time, usually it is not one stone left on another, as Jesus would put it.

And Jesus said more than that in the gospel. He talked about turmoil and distress, persecution and revolutions, disasters and tragedies.

It is certainly something that is dark to hear on a bright sunny day.

But in spite of the rather dark overtones, there is an underlying message of hope. Because Jesus tells us this, and we have to keep it carefully in mind: 
You are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.

So in the face of devastation, there is consolation. What seems to be hopeless, there is hope. It is a consolation and a hope in the assurance and promise of Jesus.

Coming back to the site of the Temple of Jerusalem. Virtually nothing much is left of it. Nothing much except for one thing, and that is, a wall.

It’s called the Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall. Jews and Christians, as well as others, go there to pray and slip in a prayer written on pieces of paper. That is no ordinary wall and there is a story to it.

When the Temple was being built, the work was divided among the different sections of the population. The building of the Western Wall was given to the poor and it was considered the least significant part of the Temple. To put it simply, it was just a retaining wall, to prevent soil erosion, among other things.

The poor worked hard to construct it, as they could not hire labourers to do the work. Also all the labourers were hired by the rich. So stone by stone, the poor constructed the Western Wall.

When the Roman army was destroying the Temple in 70 AD, God said that the work of the poor, shall not be destroyed, and the angels descended from on high and spread their wings to protect the Wall. 

The Temple was the symbol of the Divine Presence among the people. So even when the Temple was destroyed, the Divine Presence did not leave that Wall and it still stands to this present day. 

That Western Wall, that Wailing Wall, is deemed as holy. That is the symbol of the Divine Presence. 

So the Wall is a symbol of the Divine Presence for the Jewish people. That Wall, although it is a reminder of devastation, it is also the symbol of hope. 

That Wall, the work of the poor is also the symbol of the promises of God. It has endured to this day and hence it has a message for us.

Jesus promised us that He will defend us and be our protection. Jesus is the Wall that surrounds us and keeps us safe.

So whether we are going for our holidays, or preparing for the festive season, let us always ask Jesus to surround us with His love and keep us humble and dependent on Him.

In our trials and difficulties, let us turn to Jesus and ask Him to be our strength and to stand firm like that Western Wall.

Let us stand firm in our faith and endurance, so that like the Western Wall, we can be a symbol of the Divine Presence in the world.