Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C, 02-05-10

Acts 14:21b-27
Revelation 21:1-5a
John 13:31-33a, 34-35

For a start, I would like to ask you a few questions.

These are no trick questions; just general knowledge questions.

Also there is no need to shout out the answers because I know you won’t shout in church.

So here come the questions: Name the three wealthiest people in the world.

Name the last three people who have won the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Name the last three winners of the Oscar awards for best actor.

Name the last three winners of the Miss Universe pageant.

You may wonder, what is the point of asking these questions, when most of us can’t remember any of those names.

But that is the point. Most of us can’t remember much of who made it to the headlines of yesterday.

Well, those who made it to the headlines are certainly no second-class achievers.

They are indeed the best in their fields, the cream of the crop.

But the applause, no matter how loud and how prolonged, will fade.

And the awards will tarnish. And the achievements are slowly forgotten.

Yesterday’s headlines are stale news. They are yesterday’s papers, left in the corner and maybe even used to wrap doggy pooh.

Now here is another quiz. Let us see how we will do for this one.

Name three teachers who taught you in school.

Name three friends who helped you through a difficult time.

Name three persons who have encouraged you and affirmed you.

Name three persons whom you enjoy spending time with.

Now, was that easier? And why was it easier?

Well, from the two sets of questions we can realize one thing.

We realize that the people we remember most in our lives are not necessarily the ones with the most money, or the most credentials, or the most awards, or the ones who make it to the headlines.

Rather, the people we remember are the ones who care about us; they are the people who love us.

So in the final analysis, what really matters is who loved you, and who you loved.

In the gospel we hear of Jesus giving us a new commandment.

It is the commandment of love – just as Jesus have loved us, we are to love one another.

What Jesus gave us is a commandment; it is not a suggestion.

A commandment does not give us an option.

Rather it requires from us a decision.

And if we call ourselves Christians, then we have already made that decision.

To say that we are a Christian, and yet, not fulfill that love commandment, then that is a contradiction.

Yet within us there exists this contradiction of sinfulness and holiness.

Within us there is selfishness, and yet there is also selflessness.

So when we decide to love, that is a profound decision, because it comes out of a struggle from within.

A journalist was watching the late Mother Teresa attending to a man suffering from gangrene.

The sight and smell of the wounds were just too revolting for him and he said to Mother Teresa: I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars!

Mother Teresa replied: Neither would I do it for that amount of money. But for the love of God, I will do it.

Yes, love always demands the best out of us, and love brings out the best in us.

And love will also help us understand others, and love will help us see how they need to be loved.

Maybe let me tell you a pre-Mother’s Day joke, since next Sunday is Mother’s Day.

Four very successful brothers were sharing with each other what they gave to their mother, who lived far away in another city, for Mother’s Day.

The first said: I had a big house built for Mama.

The second said: I had a state-of-the-art theatre built in that house.

The third said: I had a limousine delivered to Mama.

The fourth said: You know how Mama loved reading the Bible, but her eyesight is failing. I came across this parrot which can recite any passage of the Bible.

Mama just had to name the chapter and the verse and the parrot will recite it.

That parrot costs $500 000, but I thought it was worth it and I had it sent to Mummy.

The other brothers were impressed.

After Mother’s Day, the brothers received thank you notes from their mother.

The first – Dear Milton, the house you built was so huge and I live in only one room but I had to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway.

The second – Dear Marvin, I am too old to drive. I stay home and have things delivered to me. I don’t use the limo. Thanks anyway.

The third – Dear Michael, you built for me an expensive theatre which can sit 50 people, but all my friends are dead. My hearing and my eyesight are failing, I won’t be using the theatre. But thanks anyway.

Finally, the last one – Dearest Melvin, you were the only son who had given a little thought to your gift. Thanks for the live chicken. I cooked it and it was delicious. Love you, mummy.

So, to be a person of love, we don’t have to be rich and famous, or great achievers and high-flyers.

We only need to have a heart which decides to love, and keep on loving to the end.

St Terese of Lisieux, the “little flower” has this wise saying for us: I do small things with great love.

Yes, small things like cooking a simple meal for our family members, helping those who call upon us. Spending time with those who need us.

Yes, to fulfill the commandment of love is simple.

We just have to do small things with great love.

And by that love for each other, others will know that we are disciples of Jesus.

And they will also remember how we showed love and that is, by doing small things with great love.

2nd Sunday of Easter / Divine Mercy Sunday, 11.04.10

Acts 5:12-16
Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
John 20:19-31

So we have crossed over from Lent to Easter, and we are already at the 2nd Sunday of Easter.

So Good Friday is over, we have had people being baptized at Easter, we are relieved that the period of fasting and penance and the Way of the Cross is over.

So now should be a time of rejoicing, a time of celebration, a time to take a deep breathe and to take it easy for a while.

So while we are in this rejoicing and celebrative mood, let me share with you an Easter joke, a so-called Easter joke.

A small boy came back home after a long day at school, and he told his mother that he was having a stomachache.

His mother said to him : Oh, that’s because you got nothing in your stomach. You got to put something in there. Go and have your dinner and you will be ok.

The small boy did that and true enough, his stomach was ok.

Now on Easter Sunday, the small boy went with his parents for the Sunday evening Mass.

After Mass, the small boy and his parents happened to meet the priest, and the priest said to them:

Whew! It was a long and busy weekend. I am having a headache now.

When the small boy heard this, he suddenly remembered, and he said to the priest:

Father, that’s because you got nothing in your head. You got to put something in there, ok.

Well, today’s gospel is not about the Sunday after Easter.

Rather it is still dwelling on the evening of Easter Sunday and the disciples were hiding behind locked doors.

There was nothing left in their minds and nothing in their guts, and they were having the greatest heartache of their lives because there was also nothing in their hearts.

For the disciples, it was a dark, a very dark Easter Sunday evening.

It was into this darkness and heartache that the Risen Christ came and offered them peace and joy.

And there was one more thing – Jesus showed them His hands and side, the wounds of His crucifixion, to show that He was also offering them healing.

Well, if I may say it, this particular Easter, is for the Catholic Church, a bit like that Easter evening for the disciples.

The celebration of Easter was dampened and marred by a certain darkness and heartache.

I would like to think that we have read about the reports of the scandals that have surfaced in Europe.

It is a horrible scandal. And to make matters worse, it involved the clergy, it involved priests.

The media is having a field day, whereas we are reeling from the shock waves.

So we know about it, we have read about it, and yet we don’t know what to think or what to say about it.

This has shocked us. The Catholics in Europe are shaken and shattered.

We don’t feel like talking about it, maybe because we don’t know how to talk about it.

Like the disciples on that Easter Sunday evening, we are just hanging on in the darkness and hanging on with a heartache.

Maybe I am just speaking for myself, but I sigh in pain and in shame.

I wonder how many will lose faith in the Church and even leave the Church. How many will even lose faith in God?

I also wonder what’s going to happen to the dignity of the priesthood, and what will people think of priests now?
And what about promotion of vocations?

I don’t dare think about these questions, and I don’t know what the answers will be like.

But today’s gospel gives us a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

Today’s gospel mentions that eight days later, Jesus came back, and He came back just for Thomas, to strengthen his faith.

In this time of distress and darkness, of pain and shame, let us stay united with each other and together let us wait for the Lord.

I wonder if you know about the story of a dog called Hachiko. By the way, Hachi in Japanese means eight.
Hachiko was an extraordinary dog.

Back in 1924 in Japan, its owner Ueno took it as a pet.
Everyday, Hachiko would accompany Ueno to the train station and see him off to work.

At the end of the day, Hachiko would wait at the station to greet Ueno as he comes back from work.

All went on happily until one day, when Ueno suffered a heart attack, and died at his workplace.

He never returned to the train station where Hachiko was waiting.

Yet everyday, Hachiko would wait at the train station for his master’s return.

And each day, he did not see his master among the commuters at the station.

Many of the commuters who frequented the train station had seen Hachiko and Ueno together.

When they heard of what had happened, they brought food for Hachiko to nourish him during his wait.

This went on for nine years, and the story became a national sensation.

Hachiko’s faithfulness to his master impressed the Japanese people, and his legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty.

To date, two movies had been made about this true story of a dog’s loyalty.

Hachiko died on the steps outside the train station where he had waited for his master, on 8 March 1935.

For nine long years, Hachiko waited faithfully for his master, although it was a wait in vain.

In this troubled and distressful time of the Church, let us also understand the meaning of Easter in all this.

Christ died but He rose from the dead. He came back for His disciples. He even came back just for Thomas.

The Risen Christ will come back for us.

Today as we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, let us pray for God’s mercy on the Church and that Jesus will come into our hearts to strengthen us with His love.

Our wait will not be in vain. Like Hachiko, we will be loyal and we will wait in faith.

And blessed are we who do not lose faith, in God, and in the Church.

Palm Sunday, Year C, 28-03-10

At the beginning of the Mass, we participated in the triumphant procession of Jesus into Jerusalem.

We joyfully waved the palm branches to welcome the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

And just as quickly as the weather changes, we witness another procession, this time a procession out of Jerusalem, a procession towards execution.

And this time, the palm branches are as lifeless as dead leaves.

Yet these palm branches which we will bring home are a reminder that whether in celebration or in tribulation, we must be with Jesus, our Lord.

We must stay with Jesus especially in His trials and suffering.

The gospel portrayed Jesus as being tested.

From His sweating of blood to His being betrayed and abandoned by His disciples, to His being interrogated, to His crucifixion, Jesus was tested.

He was tested but He persisted. He was abandoned but He was not broken.

In fact He could even tell the repentant thief: Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.

So as we bring home these palm branches, let us also walk with Jesus in His triumphant procession into Jerusalem, and stay close to Him in the procession towards execution which will unfold before us.

Because we too will be tested. We too will face our agonies, our betrayals, our pains, our loneliness and our sufferings.

Yet we are also reminded that our sufferings in the world are nothing compared to the glory that is waiting for us in eternity.

In the meantime, let us keep in mind these words of Jesus to the repentant thief.

Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.

It is a King’s promise, it’s a Saviour’s promise. It is God’s promise.

Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C, 14 March 2010

Joshua 5:9, 10-12
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

From the young to the old, stories always have a special appeal in our hearts.

Because embedded in stories are the experiences of life, there are also lessons of life, surprises of life, or just simply the colour of life.

Telling stories to children might be relatively simple because there is a vast resource of children’s story books to tap on.

So we can tell children stories like Snow White and Cinderella, and let them imagine the characters.

That’s for children. For adults, telling stories to them become a bit tougher.

Because to get their attention, then the stories have to be about real-life.

And it can be anything from charity and bravery, to the tacky and the juicy.

So stories like how a local movie director had an affair with a young model would surely arouse the interest of adults.

Or how a foreign diplomat got involved in a series of hit-and-run accidents would surely catch our eye.

But yet, these stories are often about other people and about other characters.

These stories don’t necessarily involve us, and we can just remain as spectators or as the audience.

We can say that Jesus is a great story-teller.
Yet, Jesus does not merely tell stories ; He speaks in parables
Parables have a spiritual and mystical dimension.

Because parables reveal something about God and they also reveal something about us.

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son. It is not the story of the prodigal son.

Because the parable involves us and God. It makes us think.

Are we like the younger son who did a terrible wrong, and then came to his senses, and hoping to be forgiven?

Or are we like the older son, who does his duties and keeps the rules, but complains and criticizes those who step out of line and cannot tolerate them?

Or do we think we are like the father of the two sons who accepts and forgives unconditionally and tries his best to keep everybody together in harmony?

Of course, I have also heard of some other amusing reflections.

Like this one from a lady who said that she felt like she was the calf. Because no matter what happens, she will get it!

Certainly the parable is about acceptance and forgiveness.

And also the underlying theme of love in the parable, as seen in the father’s love for his two sons.

Let me share with you a story, not a parable, but just a story.

There was a wealthy man and his son 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 of art....
When war broke out, the son went to serve his country. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and he grieved deeply for his only son.

Some time later, there 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 this 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. The father was so drawn to the protrait that he was very moved.

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's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait in his hall. Every time visitors came to his home he pointed out the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

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

On the platform sat 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.....
The people in the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings.. Skip this one.'

But the auctioneer persisted.. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another angry voice was heard. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts.
Get on with the real bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Because being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

The annoyed voices shouted :'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masterpieces.'

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.

They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, going twice, SOLD for $10!'

A voice shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?' the people asked.

'I am 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.
So the man who took the son gets everything!'

This reminds us that God gave us His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

We may recall this scripture verse : FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, SO THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE..........
THAT'S GOD’S LOVE FOR US!

In the parable of the prodigal son, the father in his love and forgiveness, seemed like a loser.

He gave his younger wayward son his inheritance when he asked for it.

He told his elder sulking son that all he had was his.

The father is indeed a reflection of God who gave us His only Son so that we know what love is.

The question in the parable is that will the two sons now love the father more?

Will we ourselves love God more? Will we love Jesus more?

The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen, a pioneer in TV evangelizing, shared this story about what inspired him to make a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament everyday.


When the communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory which was beside the church. After being locked up in his own house, the priest looked out the window and was horrified to see the communists enter the church.

Once inside, they went into the sanctuary, broke open the tabernacle and in a hateful act of desecration, threw down the ciborium scattering the Hosts on the floor. The priest knew exactly how many Hosts had been in the ciborium: there were thirty-two.

When the communists left, they either didn't notice, or didn't pay any attention to a little girl praying in the back of the Church who saw everything. That night she returned, and slipping past the guard, entered the Church where she made an hour of prayer in reparation for the desecration she witnessed of the Blessed Sacrament.

After her hour of prayer, she went into the sanctuary, and kneeling down, she bent over and received Jesus in Holy Communion with her tongue.

Each night, the girl returned to the church to make her holy hour and receive Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue just as she did the first night. On the thirty-second night, after having consumed the last Host, she accidentally made a noise that alerted the guard.

From his bedroom window, the priest could only watch in horror as the heartrending scene unfolded before his eyes. The girl tried to run away but the guard caught up with her and beat her to death with his rifle.

When Archbishop Fulton Sheen heard this story he was so inspired that he promised God he would make a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament every day for the rest of his life.

And he was not only faithful to his promise, but he took every opportunity to spread this devotion of the daily holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. He also said this : I have found that it takes some time to catch the fire of love in prayer.

We do not know the name of that little girl in that story which inspired Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

But her heroic act of going to the church every night at the risk of her life to adore and receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament serves as a powerful testimony of her love for Jesus.

Yes, she lost her life, but I am sure she won the crown of life.

May her story inspire us to thank God for His love and forgiveness for us.

May it also move us to come to our senses, and come to love God more

1st Sunday of Lent, Year C, 21-02-10

Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Roman 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13

Last Wednesday was a special day for the Church. Because last Wednesday we began the season of Lent and we call that day Ash Wednesday.

Although it was not a day of obligation, it was a day of obligatory fasting and abstinence.

Although it was not a day of obligation, yet most of us came for Mass, and the 4 Masses on that day were generally well attended.

On Ash Wednesday at Mass, we were marked with ashes in the shape of a cross on the forehead.

This custom of marking with ashes on the forehead is from the Old Testament practice of putting ashes on the head as a sign of repentance.

Now, besides being irritating on the skin, the ashes also make a person look rather ghoulish.

Just imagine, with ashes on the head and face, a person would look like he went for cremation and was only half-done.

He would look ghostly or would even look like a ghost.

But that was the idea of the Old Testament practice of putting ashes.

Because to sin is to turn away from God. And without God, one would look like a ghost.

Hence the putting on or smearing with ashes is a sign of repentance.

But on Ash Wednesday, we didn’t have to smear ourselves with ashes; just some ashes on the forehead in the shape of a cross.

Yet to non-Catholics, it may raise some eyebrows.

A couple told me that after evening Mass on Ash Wednesday, they went back and were waiting at the lift-lobby.

Another lady came along to the lift lobby, she glanced at them, she looked alarmed and immediately turned and hurriedly walked away.

The couple looked at each other and realized that the ashes were still on their foreheads.

But the ashes on our foreheads are not meant to frighten people. They are meant to frighten us.

They are meant to remind us of our mortality and our finality.

“Remember, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return”

Yes, ashes is also a powerful reminder of what will finally become of us.

Ashes is also a powerful reminder of what will eventually become of everything we see around us.

That is also what Jesus is telling us in the gospel as He faced the temptations of the devil.

Jesus is telling us that all temptations have the objective to make us grab the temporary, and to throw away and forget about eternity.

Taken together, the 3 temptations were to lure Jesus to take control of the here and now.

What was at stake was what will control the heart of Jesus.

Because whatever controls the heart of Jesus, that will also control His actions.

The first temptation has to do with control over things.

The devil says: You are hungry. Use your power to turn stone into bread. Control your situation, no need to control your hunger.

The second temptation has to do with control over people.

The devil says: Just bow down to me, and you will have these hordes, these multitudes, bowing down to your whims and fancies. Don’t let people control you – you control them.

The third temptation is to control God, to put God to the test, so to speak.

The devil taunts Jesus: Come on, take a leap. If you are the Son of God, then God must save you, isn’t it?

Oh yes, the temptations are all about control, about what controls our heart.

We want to have control and a say over our things.

We may not admit to being control freaks, but yet we use the word “I want…” so often.

Just imagine the control and power we have over people, when we can tell someone: I want you to do this now! And he gets it done.

Or when we have a trump card in our hands, we might just say this: I want to bring this up, and I want to put all those people down. I want to show them some colour.

Such power and control makes us feel high and mighty about ourselves.

But for what? And for how long? Do we want control over the temporary and yet lose hold of our eternity?

Throughout his ministry, Jesus was faced with the choice, the temptation, to use His divine powers for His own benefit and to win the crowds for Himself.

Jesus could have taken control over what His life would be like, He could have a life of fame, power, prestige, wealth,

But Jesus surrendered this control to His Father and the most profound occasion was at Gethsemane when He said: Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from me; yet not my will but Your will be done.

To do the will of God means that we surrender control of our lives to Him.

Because at the core of our temptation is this little word “if”.

For Jesus, it is: if you are the Son of God… For us, it will be this: If God really loves me…

So we might say things like:
If God really loves me, then He will answer my prayers, He will solve my problems, He will remove my difficulties and tribulations, He will heal my illness, He will give me what I want.

And what if God does not?

The evil is in the “if”. With God, it is not an “if”, or a “but”, or a “maybe”.

God is love, and He loves us with an everlasting love.

Everything will turn to dust and ashes. We ourselves will turn to dust and ashes.

Only in God is our life and our destiny.

So let us surrender our lives and hearts to God and let Him be in control.

Let us pray that we will always do God’s will while we are here on earth, so that even while our bodies will turn to dust, we will be with God forever in heaven.

4th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 31st January 2010

Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
1 Corinthian 12:31-13:13 (or 13:4-130
Luke 4:21-30

If we ever have to choose a name for someone, and specifically a Christian name, it might be good to check out the Bible for some options.

But as we look in the Bible for some nice sounding names, please choose with caution.

At least, read up about the character whose name we are considering.

For e.g. “Stephen” is a nice name, right? Well my parents chose that name for me. It is also found in the Bible.

But as we know, Stephen, the one who was mentioned in the Bible, was stoned to death!

If my parents had known about that, I wonder if they would still choose that name for me.

Another nice sounding name found in the Bible is Jeremiah, or Jeremy, for short.

It was also the name of the prophet from which the 1st reading is taken.

If you want to choose the name Jeremiah or Jeremy for yourself or for someone else, it might be good to read up about this prophet in the Bible.

Jeremiah was a young man when the Lord called him, probably he was in his early 20s.

He was very reluctant to be God’s prophet and he tried to reject it, but in the end he still did what he was told.

So Jeremiah began to preach. He told his people bluntly that their only hope for survival was to reform their lives and turn back to God.

For that, Jeremiah got flogged in public, he was put in chains, he was thrown into a dungeon, and finally he was exiled from his homeland.

Things got so bad for him that he even cursed the day he was born.

So that’s the prophet Jeremiah. We may want to take after his name, but we sure don’t want to end up like him.

Another name which we will not take after is the name of Jesus. I don’t think anyone here has that name, out of respect, of course.

It is a nice name, but we know what happened to Jesus in the end.

At least today’s gospel gave us a snippet of what was in store for Him.

He faced rejection from the people of His own hometown, and it got so bad that they hustled Him out and wanted to throw Him down the cliff.

But He walked away, to preach another day.
But the end will come.

Jesus said that a prophet is not accepted in his own country.

But let’s face it – a true prophet is not accepted anywhere.

Because a true prophet has to speak the truth.

Yes, the truth will set us free, but first it will make us uneasy.
But in case you start to get uneasy, let me tell you a corny joke about truth.

Let me ask you: What is the difference between someone praying in church and someone praying in the casino?

Well, the one praying in the casino, his prayer is serious.
It can be as serious as this as he throws the dice – Our Father in heaven, give me a seven!

It sounds corny, but it can be that serious.

But of course, that doesn’t mean that our prayer in church is not fervent.

It may not be that serious, but it is nonetheless very fervent because we know that God hears our prayers.

Of course we have to be clear about what we are praying for.

A story has it that a woman went to see a holy man and asked him to pray to God to take her husband out of this world, because he was always quarrelling with her, and she could not live with him anymore.

The holy man paused for a moment, and then said to her : Very well, I will pray, but I must warn you that when I begin to pray, God will decide which of you is more guilty.

If God judges you to be more guilty, you will die immediately! So ….. how? You want me to start praying?

The woman thought for a while, and then said : Err…. Never mind, no need to pray anymore. And she left, hurriedly.

Well, the truth set her free, and it also made her flee.

Still, to be a prophet of the truth is never an easy task.
But to help us be prophets of the truth, the 2nd reading introduces the necessary aspect of love.

In other words, we speak the truth with love.

The only way to speak the truth is to speak it with kindness.

Because only the words of a loving person will be heard.

One of the biggest tests of a relationship is to speak to a friend about his/her faults.

And here we have to understand this. And that is, people don’t care about what you know, until they know you care about them.

If we speak the truth WITHOUT love, then as the 2nd reading puts it, we are just like a gong booming, or a cymbal clashing.

Nothing is happening, because nothing is going in.

Even we ourselves know from experience that no matter how many hard knocks we give a person, he won’t change.
In fact he might even build a wall against us.

We might know who St. Augustine is, and the story of his life. In his younger days, he was simply wild.

He kept delaying his conversion. He would even seriously pray like this: O Lord, make me good … but not so soon!

One day he happened to see his mother, St. Monica crying softly.

Now St. Monica was noted for this – she prayed for 30 years for her son’s conversion.
She had such perseverance because a priest told her that her prayers and tears for her son would not go unnoticed by God.

So St. Augustine asked his mother why she was crying. St. Monica replied : I am crying for you, my son. I cry because I love you.

St. Augustine did not respond to that, but it moved him, and that finally triggered his conversion process.

Yes, truth alone is too glaring ; we can’t take the naked truth.

But truth dressed in love will move hearts to build bridges and tear down walls.

So whatever name we have, we are all called to be God’s prophets. So what does it mean to be a prophet?

How am I to be a prophet?

Let me paraphrase the 2nd reading and tell you what it means to be a prophet.

A prophet is patient and kind. A prophet is not jealous or boastful or conceited.

A prophet is not rude or selfish. A prophet does not take offence and is not resentful.

A prophet does not take pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth.

A prophet is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.

That’s what it means to be a prophet. That’s what it means to be a prophet of God’s love.

Baptism of the Lord, Year C, 10th Jan 2010

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

There is one day in our life that we will always remember, one day that we will not forget, unless of course, our memory begins to fail.

Some would make this day special with a big celebration, others would just spend it quietly.

That day I am talking about is none other than our birthday.

Yes, that’s our special day and every year we would take note of it, or others will remind us of it.

More so if our birthdays fall on big festive days like Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.

Even if we don’t want to celebrate our birthday on those kind of days, others will remind us about it.

I came across this story about celebrating birthdays, but it sounds more like a joke…

A group of friends wanted to spring a birthday surprise for one of their shy friends.

But of all things, they decided to do it at Mass.

So before Mass, one of them approached the priest to ask if he would say or do something for the birthday boy.

The priest, a prim and proper traditionalist, gave this reply: See how lah.

Now, during Mass, the priest said nothing about the birthday.

After the final blessing and just before the priest left the altar, he said: Is there someone here celebrating his birthday today?
So his friends gleefully prodded the shy birthday boy to raise his hand.

And then the priest said, “Well, we don’t have a birthday cake for you, but since it is your birthday today…” and then he pointed to the altar, “then you can blow out the candles.”

Well, it is still a privilege to do something for the altar, even if it is just blowing out the candles!

So, in big or small ways, birthdays are remembered because they are as special as each of us is special.

But, there is another special day for us which we seldom take note of, or even bother to remember.

That special day is none other than the day of our baptism.

Some of us may remember the day of our baptism but by and large, we don’t usually take note of the date.

Just in case we do not know when the day of our baptism was, we can find it in our baptism certificate.

And just in case we do not know where our baptism certificate is, then better start finding. You will need it when you want to book a niche in the Church columbarium.

Our baptism day is just as important as our birthday, maybe even more important, when considered in the religious sense.

Just as we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, today we celebrate His baptism.

The baptism of Jesus is as important an event as our baptism, although it is different in essence.

Our baptism cleanses away the stain of original sin and immerses us into the identity of Christ and that is why it is only with baptism that we can be identified as Christians.

The baptism of Jesus identifies Him as the beloved Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world.

Hence, the baptism of Jesus marks the beginning as well as the commitment to His mission as Saviour.

Similarly, our baptism marks the beginning of our life in God, our spiritual life.

If our birthday marks the beginning of our existence, then our baptism marks the beginning of our commitment to God.

That commitment is essentially and fundamentally expressed in a life of faithfulness to God.

And there will be plenty of temptations to challenge our faithfulness to God.

Even Jesus after His baptism was tempted by the devil in the desert. But of course he overcame the temptations.

We too, are subjected to many temptations. So how have we done so far?

This feast of the Baptism of the Lord not only reminds us of the day of our baptism, but also reminds us that it is time for a spiritual check-up.

Sometimes, we may be tempted to think that if we were not baptized, then we might have it easier and have more freedom.

We can sleep in on Sundays, don’t have to come to church, do anything we like without feeling guilty and we do not have to go for confession.

In the area of morality, we don't have to worry about free sex, divorce and abortion, if we were not baptized.

As it is, we are already losing, or maybe even lost, the sense of sin.

For example, committing adultery is now called having an affair, stealing is called shop-lifting,

Yes, we are tempted to go easy on ourselves, don’t have to take life too hard, after all how bad can we be.

We are not playing with black magic or anything satanic so we can’t be that bad what…

Yet there is one aspect of the spiritual life that is called spiritual warfare, which we don’t mention often.

Just as Jesus came to fight evil and sin, we now continue the fight, and we fight with confidence in our faithfulness to God.

But there are distractions that can make us lose focus.

Here I would like to cite the battle of Troy, a classic example in the art of war.

In the story, the Greeks laid siege on the city of Troy.

But they could not break the defenders of the city because the Trojans were united in their commitment to their city, so the Greeks decided to use deception.

They pretended to retreat and sail off, but they left behind a big horse-like structure, which we now call the Trojan Horse.

The people of Troy unsuspectingly pulled the Trojan Horse into they city as their war trophy and began rejoicing and celebrating too soon.

When everyone was drunk on celebration and with their guard totally down, the Greek soldiers hiding inside the Trojan Horse came out and opened the city gates for the Greek army that sailed back and were waiting outside the city

That was how the city of Troy fell, all because they lost focus on their safety and security, and were deceived by novelty and they gave in to their curiosity.

It was a classical example of deception and temptation in the art of war.

The Bible gives us this warning in 1 Cor 10:12:”The man who thinks he is safe must be careful not to fall.”

In God is our safety and security, He is our God and we are His beloved people.

This is the covenant that is sealed by our baptism.

God has already given us everything to help us feel safe and secure. He even gave us His Son. What more do we want?

We might like to have some excitement in life, but we are risking our safety and security.

Because there are Trojan Horses waiting at our gates.

But they can’t come in, unless we want to pull them in, and then the Horse will be our loss.

So as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, and as we recall our own baptism, let us recommit ourselves in faithfulness to the Lord.

Let us fight the good fight, let us keep focused on the Lord, and keep faithful to the Lord always.