Pentecost Sunday, Year B, 19.05.2024

  Acts 2:1-11 / 1 Cor 12:3-7, 12-13 / John 20:19-23

The reality of this world can be generally divided or categorized into two realms. 

One realm is the visible reality, and the other is the invisible. Although invisible, it is still a reality. 

Understandably, we are more familiar with the visible reality or the visible realm. 

That visible realm or reality is not limited to only what can be seen. It is also about what can be heard, what can be touched, what can be smelled and what can be tasted. 

In other words, the reality of the visible realm is what can be experienced by the five senses. 

That is what we are familiar with as we are able to experience that reality with our senses. 

What we may not be familiar with is the spiritual realm. 

On this Feast of Pentecost, the spiritual realm is revealed to us in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person in the unity of the Holy Trinity. In the Creed, we profess that the Holy Spirit is Lord and the Giver of Life. 

We often associate the Holy Spirit as something like a powerful wind or tongues of fire, as we heard in the 1st reading. 

And Holy Spirit is also often associated in the form of a dove, as the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove at the baptism of Jesus. 

But on this Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes down upon the Church, upon each of us, to reveal Himself more to us, and to give us a deeper understanding. 

As on that first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and they went out bravely to proclaim the marvels of God.

So, the Holy Spirit is revealed in the members of the Body of Christ. 

Over and above the five senses with which we experience the reality of the visible realm, the Holy Spirit gives us another sense. 

The Holy Spirit gives us the spiritual sense, with which we are able to experience the invisible realm. 

So, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the ways of God in this world. The Holy Spirit also reveals to us how God works in and through us. 

The 2nd reading, from one Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13, tells us this: There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit. There all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord, working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. 

So, with the Holy Spirit in each of us, we become a part of God's revelation in the Church, and to the world. 

The most profound sign of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is when we, the People of God, are gathered in prayer. 

The disciples were gathered in prayer in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit descended upon them. 

As we gather in worship and prayer, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon us, and we respond in thanksgiving and singing the praises of God. 

In worship and in prayer, the Holy Spirit unites us as the Church and as the Body of Christ. 

And guided and prompted by the Holy Spirit, we reveal God to each other and to the world. 

We reveal the presence of God through acts of love and words of peace. 

We reveal the compassion and the forgiveness of God. 

Over and above the five human senses, we bear witness to the divine sense, which is the spiritual sense. 

When we bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, others will be able to sense the presence of God.

That is our Christian mission, and may Holy Spirit help us to fulfil that mission.

7th Sunday of Easter, Year B, 12.05.2024

 Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 / 1 John 4:11-16 / John 17:11-19

No one can really say that they don't have any problems in life. Even a carefree person will be bothered by flies and mosquitoes, and will have some complaints about life. 

So, whenever we are faced with the problems of life, especially the big and difficult problems, we will certainly resort to complaining. 

We know that complaining is not the solution to our problems in life. In fact, complaining only creates more problems for us. 

But in our anger and frustration, we want to complain, and we may even blame others for our problems. 

And it can also be quite convenient to blame God for all our problems. 

Also, when we pray for God's help to solve our problems, we don't seem to get an answer. 

But the truth of life is that life is difficult. 

And so it is with faith; faith is also difficult. 

So, we not only have problems with life, we also have problems with our faith. 

In the gospel, Jesus says that we belong to the world no more than He belongs to the world. 

But Jesus is not asking God to remove us from the world. 

So, Jesus is not asking God to remove all our problems in life. 

Rather, Jesus is asking God for something more crucial and more important, and that is that God protects us from the evil one. 

Life is difficult, and we will have our problems in life. 

And then the evil one will lurk around to tempt us, and use our problems to pull us down. 

And when we give in to the temptations of the evil one, then the problems in life will overwhelm us, and we will begin to drown in disappointment and frustration. 

That is why Jesus ask God to protect us from the evil one. 

On our part, we must look to God for help and protection. 

In the gospel, Jesus gave us a posture of prayer, a posture to turn to God for help and protection. 

The gospel passage begins with: Jesus raised His eyes too heaven. 

When we come to Church, what will catch our attention are the brightly-lit stained glass images of Jesus, Mother Mary and Saint Joseph.

When we raise our eyes and attention to the sacred images, we will know that Jesus is our Saviour, and Mother Mary and Saint Joseph are praying for us for God's help and protection. 

But if we keep looking down, then the evil one will only pull us further down. 

And talking about raising up and looking down, there is this legend about St. Teresa of Avila, the Carmelite nun who reformed the Carmelite Order in the 16th century. 

St. Teresa of Avila was serious about reforming, but she was also witty and funny, even in the face of persecution and temptation. 

Legend has it that one day while she was in the toilet, the evil one popped up and began mocking her. 

St. Teresa prayed and then retorted to the evil one with this: What comes out from my mouth goes up to God. What comes out from the other end is for you the evil one. 

So let us raise our minds and hearts to God and let what comes out from our lips give praise and thanks to God. 

God will bless us with joy and protect us from the evil one. 

May the joy of the Lord be our strength to face the difficulties of life. 

May the joy of the Lord be our protection against the temptations of the evil one.

6th Sunday of Easter Year B, 05.05.2024

  Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 / 1 John 4:7-10 / John 15:9-17

There are many ways to describe what life is like, and what life is about. 

It can be said that life is like boarding a train and going on a long long journey. 

When we go on board a train, there are already people on it. 

As the train moves along, we will gradually strike up conversations, and make friends with people. 

There are some whom we will easily make friends with because of similarity in personality, and common interests. 

And then there are some who will just be acquaintances, and we won't know much about them, and they also will not know much about us. 

And then there might be some whom we will keep a distance from, for one reason or another. 

As the train travels from station to station, some people will come on board, while some will alight the train.

So, there are some people that we will meet, and then there will be some friends that we will miss, and we wonder if we will ever meet them again. 

And then there will be some who will remain on the train with us along the journey. 

They may become our good friends, and some may also become our best friends. 

So, life is like a train journey where we will meet people. And in that journey, we don't merely look at the passing scenery in solitude. 

Rather, we develop relationships, and some of these relationships will last throughout the journey. 

And when these relationships are enriching, then the journey of life will truly be beautiful and wonderful. 

In the gospel, Jesus tells us that He calls us friends, because He has made known to us everything He has learned from His Father. 

In the Bible, the word “friend” is more than an interpersonal relationship. 

In the Bible the word “friend” also expresses a deep personal relationship between God and man. 

God refers to Abraham as “my friend” (Isaiah 41: 8). And the Lord speaks to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Exodus 33:11). 

When Jesus calls us friends, He means to say that He knows us through and through. 

He was with us when we came into this world, and He will be with us right till the day when we leave this world. 

Yes, Jesus is with us all throughout the journey of life. He chose us to be His friends, and He wants to be our good friend, to be our best friend. 

But, as in any friendship and relationship, the test will come. 

Jesus wants to be our friend, a friend who would be willing to make the sacrifice and to lay down His life for us. 

Jesus showed what a friend He is to us, by dying on the Cross in order to save us. 

Truly, a man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. 

Yes, what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs He bears. And what a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer. 

Let us be a friend to Jesus by being with Him in prayer, daily and faithfully. 

When we have a friend in Jesus, He will also bless all our friendships. 

Then the journey of life, and the journey in life, will be beautiful and wonderful.