2nd Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 19.01.2025

  Isaiah 62:1-5 / 1 Cor 12:4-11 / John 2:1-12  

One of the profound expressions of love is in a wedding celebration. 

A wedding is more than just between a man and a woman. It also includes the families, the relatives and friends. 

And in the run-up to the day of the wedding, that is a lot of preparation. 

Like: the photo-shoot, wedding gifts, booking of the restaurant, food tasting. 

But no matter how well the preparations can be, the reality is that nothing is perfect. 

Because something will be left undone, or something will be forgotten. 

Like, the best man might forget to bring along the wedding rings. 

Or, when the bridegroom and his happy band of brothers bring the wedding gifts to the bride’s home, and the bride's mother and aunties make a huge commotion because the roasted pig does not have a tail. 

More than just something missing, the tail has a great significance. So, it is like, no tail, no wedding. 

The opening line of the gospel says that there was a wedding that Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited. 

It was like a communal celebration, and there was food and wine and it was happy occasion. 

And then a problem came up - the wine ran out. It was urgent and serious enough for the mother of Jesus to tell Him that they have no wine. 

The wine in a wedding celebration is a symbol of joy and hope. No wine means no joy, and maybe even no hope. 

And response of Jesus does not sound that encouraging, and He says that His hour has not come yet. 

With no wine and a seemingly no response from Jesus, the wedding celebration seems to be turning into an embarrassment. 

And in that desperate situation, Mary made that profound statement: Do whatever He tells you. 

That is a faith statement, as well as a reminder and a revelation. 

Life is not perfect, and we will have to face our desperate situations, as well as disappointments and frustrations. 

So, we will have no time, no money, no boyfriend, no girlfriend, no job. 

Going on a little further, then it can be, no peace, no love, no joy, no meaning, no future. 

For us, life is like a big “no”. And even when we pray, we feel that God is telling us “no”. 

But Jesus did not say “no” to His mother, and He will not say no to us either. 

And Mary tells us to do whatever Jesus tells us. 

So, we pray and wait. And Jesus will turn our disappointments and frustrations into rejoicing and celebration, just as He changed water into wine. 

The gospel tells us that the miracle of the water changing into wine is the first of the signs given by Jesus. 

A sign points to a meaning and a direction. 

Today's gospel reminds us that we have been washed and cleansed by the waters of Baptism. 

Jesus now wants to raise us up and change the waters of our washing and cleansing into the wine of our rejoicing. 

So yes, there will be wine, there will be peace, there will be joy and there will be love. 

There will be meaning, there will be direction. 

We only need to remember what Mary told us.

And that is to pray, wait, and do whatever Jesus tells us.

Baptism of the Lord, Year C, 12.01.2025

 Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 / Acts 10:34-38 / Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 

There are certain things that can be said about our country. 

We are called a “green city”, so yes, green and also quite clean. 

We may be just a small little dot in the world map, but the cost of living can be quite high. 

Whatever it might be, we have many things to be thankful for. 

One of which is the weather; we only have hot days or rainy days. 

The hot days are not that scorching, and the rainy days are not that freezing. 

Over the last couple of days, we have seen quite a lot of rain and quite a lot of water too. 

But in another country, there are raging fires that have caused much damage, and required mandatory evacuation. 

When we think about water and fire, they are good servants but bad masters. 

And in the religious sense, water and fire are also symbols of spiritual realities. 

In the gospel, John the Baptist also talks about water and fire. He said that he baptizes with water, but someone is coming after him, someone who is more powerful than he is. 

And that someone will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 

The gospel gives an account of the baptism of Jesus. 

After His baptism, Jesus was at prayer, and the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily shape, like a dove. 

And then there came a voice from Heaven that declared: You are my Son, the Beloved, my favour rest on you. 

With His baptism, Jesus began His work of salvation by immersing Himself into the broken and fractured human situation. 

By His baptism, water became a symbol and a means of spiritual cleansing and healing. 

Jesus came to save and to heal. He does not break the crushed reed nor quench the wavering flame, as the 1st reading puts it. 

The baptism of Jesus also reminds us of our own baptism. 

Yes, at our baptism, we have been washed and cleansed of sin, and we also received a lighted candle as a symbol of the Light of Christ. 

But as we step out into the world, we face brokenness from disappointments, and fractured relationships with others. 

The fire of God's love that we received at baptism begins to quiver and waiver. 

And we get tempted and distracted, and we fall into sin and into the trap of the devil. 

But as the 2nd reading tells us, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who fell into the trap of the devil. 

Jesus did not break the crush reed nor quench the wavering flame. 

Jesus came to save and to heal those who are crushed in life and wavering in gloom. 

Today, we renew our baptism and our commitment to Jesus. 

And today, God tells us that we are His beloved children, and that He wants to bless us abundantly. 

We need God's blessings of love to be witnesses of the Good News of salvation.

God has given the Church Holy Water as a reminder of our baptism, that we are His beloved children, and as a sign of His blessings and love. 

Let us give thanks for this gift of Holy Water, and use it on ourselves and our loved ones, and also on those who need to experience the saving love of God. 

Jesus will heal our crushed spirits so that our hearts will burn brightly with the fire of His love. 

And may our lives as God's beloved children radiate with hope, so that others will be drawn to the saving waters of baptism.

Epiphany, Year C, 05.01.2025

 Isaiah 60:1-6 / Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 / Matthew 2:1-12

We believe that everything happens under God's watchful eyes. 

And with that, it means that everything happens for a reason. 

So, when something good happens, we believe that it is a blessing from God. 

But when bad things happen, we may not say that it is from God. 

Nonetheless, we may ask why did God allow that to happen. 

When we look around and think about it, we have our questions about what is happening in life. 

Like the recent airplane tragedy that took a number of lives. 

Or the wars and conflicts and violence in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and all those acts of terrorism, that took away and are still taking away many innocent lives. 

We wonder why such tragedies and disasters are happening. 

If God sees, and God knows, then why does He allow such bad things to happen. 

Or a deeper question to ask is, what is God showing us, what is God telling us, when bad, or even when good things happen. 

In the Christmas story, the wise men saw the Star and they knew it was a sign from God to look for the new-born King of the Jews. 

But what is rather difficult to understand is that God did not tell them everything, and did not guide them all the way. 

Even the Star seemed to have disappeared now and then, and that was why the wise men came to Jerusalem, thinking that the infant King would be born there. 

Well, King Herod came to know about their intentions, and he was perturbed. But that also revealed how evil and wicked King Herod was. 

Finally, when the Star appeared and led the wise men to Bethlehem, they must be surprised. 

It would be indeed surprising for the wise men to see that the infant King of the Jews to be lying in a manger, instead of being in a palace. 

His parents were simple and lowly, instead of being royalties. 

All the assumptions and presumptions of an infant King seem to end up in opposition and contradiction. 

Today's feast is called Epiphany. Epiphany means revelation. 

It means that the birth of Jesus Christ, the King and the Saviour, is revealed to the whole world. 

The wise men symbolize the nations of the world acknowledging the kingship of Jesus Christ, and coming to pay homage to Him. 

But there are also deeper and personal revelations. 

It revealed the true character of king Herod, and the wise men were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. 

It revealed the faith of the wise men, in that though what they saw was contrary to their expectation, nonetheless they believed. 

And they expressed their belief with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

These gifts also have deeper revelations. They symbolize the Royalty, Divinity and Humanity of Jesus. 

The feast of Epiphany also reveals to us that God has His ways and His plans. 

And God will reveal to us what we need to know, so that we can do what He plans for us. 

And God will also reveal to us what we need to know about ourselves, so that we can understand ourselves deeper. 

And the three symbolic gifts are also revelations for our parish.

The infant King came to the world in humility and simplicity. So too must we. 

This church is the house of God; it is a holy place. We come here to pray and worship. 

Yes, we are reminded of the call to pray and to be holy. 

Myrrh symbolizes humanity and mortality. We are human and we have failings, but God loves us and sends Jesus to save us. 

So, even though we are human and we have our failings, still we must love and forgive, just as God loves and forgives us.

On this feast of Epiphany, we thank God for revealing Himself to us and for revealing His plans and His will to us. 

Like the wise men, let us believe, and let us offer our lives to God in love and in service of our brothers and sisters.

Holy Family, Year C, 29.12.2024

 Ecclesiasticus 3:2-6, 12-14 / Colossians 3:12-21 / Luke 2:41-52

No matter where we go to, or how far we go, at the end of the day, we will always go back to where we came from. 

This place where we will always go back to is where we call home. 

We may go overseas for holiday, and we are impressed by how nice and good that place is. 

But our hearts will still think of home, and long to go back home. 

Yes, home is where the heart is, home is where the family is, home is where there is love. 

So, at home, and in the family, there should be love, there must be love. 

But as it is, no home is perfect, and no family is perfect. 

But despite the imperfections and even dysfunctions, we still go back home and back to our family. 

Because we believe that there can be love, and that there will be love. 

And that is the hope for our home, that is the hope for our family, and it is with that hope that we keep going back. 

Today's Gospel passage recalls that occasion when there was tension in the Holy Family. 

Jesus went with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. 

After the feast, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without His parents knowing it. 

Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus for three days, and they finally found Him in the Temple. 

Mary expressed the tension of the situation when she said: My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been looking for you. 

And they did not understand what Jesus meant by being busy with His Father's affairs. 

So, even for the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, love is not a given, and they too faced trials and tensions. 

But they believed that there can be love, and that there will be love. 

And that is also what the Holy Family is telling us about our family. 

That in our family trials and tensions, there can be love and there will be love, and it is love that will keep our family together. 

There is a story of a particular cold and hard winter, and a family of porcupines came together to keep warm. 

But as they huddled together, their spikes poked at each other. 

After some painful contact, they decided to stay away from each other. 

But because the winter was cold and hard, they had to come back together to keep warm. 

They accepted that they have to bear with the painful moments in order to keep warm and alive. 

Yes, it is the warmth of love that keeps our family together, and that love will overcome the trials and the tensions of family life. 

God wants to bless our families just as He blessed the Holy Family. 

And just as Jesus lived under the authority of Mary and Joseph, parents have a spiritual authority over their children. 

And parents express that authority by blessing their children with Holy Water, to invoke God's protection and guidance for their children. 

And we the Church, the family of God, must also invoke God's blessings on this feast of the Holy Family. 

May Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us and our families, that there will be love, and that parents and children will be God’s blessing for one another.

And may we, the family of God, also be a blessing for the world.

Christmas 2024, 25.12.2014

 Micah 5:1-4 / Hebrews 10:5-10 / Luke 1:39-44

For us Christians, the central expression of Christmas is none other than the Nativity Scene. 

There can be all the other decorations like the Christmas tree, the fairy lights, presents, etc. 

But, the Nativity Scene takes the central focus among all these other decorations. 

It has to be. It must be. 

Because when we see the Baby Jesus lying in the manger, it reminds us of the fulfilment of that age-old promise of God.

The Saviour has been born, the Word of God was made flesh. 

The love of God is expressed in the reality of the human situation. 

But the Nativity Scene is not only about the baby in the manger. 

There is Mary, whose “yes” at the Anunciation enabled God to come into the world. 

There is Joseph, who didn't fully understand everything but nonetheless did the right and just thing. 

And there were the shepherds, the sheep, as well as the cow and the donkey. 

What is so fascinating about the Nativity Scene is that each figurine and each object has a story to tell. 

And all the stories point to that one main story, and that is God's great love for humanity. 

That is the great mystery of the Christmas story. 

It is about the unconditional and sacrificial love of God for sinners. 

It is also an expression of God's love in the people around us. 

Mary reminds us of those who care for us with a tender love. 

Joseph reminds us of those who protected and provided for us. 

The shepherds remind us of the lowly and unseen workers who provided us with the essential services. 

Even the donkey and the cow remind us of the burdens of life and the sacrifices we have to make. 

So, the Nativity Scene is about God's love for us. 

It is also about our love for each other. 

Christmas is about love and the celebration of love. 

God has fulfilled His promise of love. 

Let us promise to love God and may that love be expressed in our relationships with one another as we celebrate Christmas.

4th Sunday of Advent, Year C, 22.12.2024

  Micah 5:1-4 / Hebrews 10:5-10 / Luke 1:39-44

Some of us may remember this famous statement and its historical background. 

The statement is this: That's one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind. 

That statement was made by the American astronaut Neil Armstrong on the 20th July, 1969. He made this statement as he descended from the ladder of the lunar capsule and stepped on the surface of the Moon. 

And with that, he became the first man to step on the moon. 

But man didn't stop with just stepping on the moon. The quest for exploration of outer space continues with further ventures to other planets. 

But other than the moon, man has not stepped on other planets, well, not yet. 

So, it can be said that man has leapt to the moon, and he may be eyeing other planets to leap at. 

Although man has leapt far into outer space, how far has he gone into inner space? 

Much money and resources are spent exploring other planets, and yet planet Earth was left with an ecological problem. 

Man has leapt are into outer space, but has neglected about his inner space. 

In the gospel, we hear of another kind of leap. It was a leap of joy, a leap of life, a leap of love. 

Mary greeting Elizabeth seems ordinary, but it revealed a deep mystery. 

The Word of God has taken flesh in the womb of Mary, and through her greeting, the Good News of salvation was proclaimed. 

And baby in Elizabeth's womb left for joy at the sound of the Good News. 

It was a leap not into outer space, but a leap into the mystery of salvation, a leap into the love of God. 

As we listen to the gospel passage, our hearts also want to leap for joy. 

But if our hearts are not responding to this joyful news, could it be that our hearts are heavy and burdened. 

We may have spent our time, resources and energy on the unnecessary, on the so-called outer space, and neglected what is necessary, we have neglected our inner space. 

We need to listen to the Good News, so that our hearts can also leap with joy into the love of God. 

A story goes that a man went trekking into the woods, and he was fascinated by the natural beauty, and he lost track of time. 

When he realized it was getting dark, he tried to hurry back but he got lost, but he still tried to find his way back even though it was dark. 

He went on and on and then suddenly he fell off a cliff. As he was falling down, he somehow managed to catch hold of a branch. 

He caught his breath and was relieved, but he couldn't see where he was as it was pitch dark. 

So, he began to pray: Oh God, save me, save me. 

To his surprise, he heard a voice: You want me to save you? 

The man replied. Yes Lord yes, please save me. 

The Voice then said: Okay, then do what I tell you, let go of the branch. 

The man was stunned and also shocked. He couldn’t believe what he heard. So, he closed his eyes and desperately held on to the branch with all his might. 

After a long while, he heard birds chirping and he knew that finally morning has arrived. 

With much anxiety, he slowly opened his eyes to see what his situation was. To his surprise, when he opened his eyes to see where he was, his feet was only six inches from the ground. 

If only he had listened to the voice of God and let go of the branch, he wouldn't have suffered all night. 

So, it comes back to this simple spiritual saying: Let go and let God. 

When we let go of our worries, fears and anxieties, we will listen to the voice of God and let God take control of our lives. 

When we let God take control, then we will be able to listen to the Good News of salvation, and our hearts will leap for joy.

3rd Sunday of Advent, Year C, 15.12.2024

 Zephaniah 3:14-18 / Philippians 4:4-7 / Luke 3:10-18

Human beings and machines have some similarities. 

A machine is designed to perform a specific task. 

For example, a car is designed to move after a sequence of operations. The task is specific and there are not much variations to what a car is supposed to do. 

Human beings, as much as they can be flexible and adaptable, also like to be told specifically what to do. 

And human beings can be rather robotic, and they can at times even act like robots. 

But a better way of putting it is that human beings are creatures of habit, and they like to be ritualistic. 

They want to know what to do and keep doing it, so that they don't have to think too much about how to do it. 

And when they get used to doing something over and over again, then it is not likely that they will like to change it. 

In the gospel, the people who came to John the Baptist asked him what must they do for repentance. 

So, to specific groups of people John the Baptist gave them specific tasks to perform. 

Generally, he told them to be generous and to share with those in need. 

Then, to the tax collectors, he told them to be honest and not to collect more than required. To the soldiers, he told them not to intimidate and not to extort. 

John the Baptist was specific and straightforward in his teaching and in his instructions to the people and to the specific groups. 

So the people thought that it was all that was required. 

Then, John the Baptist gave them something more to think about and what to be prepared for. 

He said that he baptized with water for the repentance of sin. 

But there is one who is coming after him, and who is more powerful than he is. 

And that one who is to come, will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 

What immediately comes to mind is a stark contrast. 

John the Baptist talks about and uses water for his ministry. 

But Jesus, the one who is to come, will have the power of the Holy Spirit and there will be fire. 

What a contrast, and what a change. 

But the contrast also prepares for the change, and it will be a wonderful and beautiful change. 

On this third week of Advent, the rose coloured candle is lighted and rose coloured vestments are worn. 

The rose coloured candle stands as a contrast among the three purple coloured candles. 

It is a candle to symbolize the theme of rejoicing. 

It also reminds us that when Jesus came He brought about a change. 

He was a light in the darkness, and his birth brought about rejoicing because the promise of salvation was fulfilled. 

On this third Sunday of Advent, the message for us is that Jesus will bring about a change, and it is a change that we will rejoice over. 

So, when there are changes in our lives, in our family and in our workplace, let us ask Jesus to help us see the change with rejoicing and with His blessings.

For this parish community, for Fr. Andre and for myself, all of us had undergone a change, and we want to believe that the change comes with blessings and rejoicing.

Let us remember the rose coloured candle of the Advent wreath.

May the light of that candle give us the Spirit of rejoicing. 

And let us pray that every change will come with the blessings of God, and that every change will be wonderful and beautiful.