Faithfulness and Love

Monthly Archives: March 2014

Easter Wednesday

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How many of us really care about others? Do we care about others unconditionally, or do we care because there is something we can gain from caring? In today’s reading, the people, who put the cripple from birth down to beg every day near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate, are not mentioned in name. Who are these people? Why were they putting the cripple down every day near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate to beg? Were they using the man to beg so that they could get money by preying on the sympathy of passersby? Were they just being charitable to the man so that he could continue to survive? Could the man’s condition be healed, even though the cost could have been quite high? So many questions, so many scenarios.

However, we notice something different. Peter and John did not just give him some money and walk away. They healed him of his crippledness in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene. In doing so, they gave back the crippled man his life, his independence, his freedom. He was no longer dependent on others to survive, he could now take care of himself. If you were in his shoes, you would also certainly be walking and jumping and praising God!

It seems easy for us to just give some money and walk away. After all, that seems to be the most convenient way of doing charity. But let us ask ourselves sincerely… Is that enough? Are we really helping, or are we just giving so that the recipient would not bother us further, and possibly to feel and look good? How many of us are willing to go that extra mile, like Peter and John, and help the person more than what is basic or minimum? Are we truly loving others, just as God truly love us?

Easter Tuesday

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Simple folks, especially those from the countryside or villages can sometimes be more trusting and dependent on God’s providence. Some possible reasons why these folks are like that is because they are not burdened with a lot of information or gadgets and gizmos, they do not have that much fear and anxiety due to their fewer belongings, they are a closer knit community as they practically grew up together and tend to know each other better, etc.

When Peter spoke to the Jews, he was speaking to simple folks who already feared the Lord. His words “cut to the heart… They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised.” It did not require that much philosophical and theological explanations to convince them, and “that very day about three thousand were added to their number.”

What about us? Are we simple folks or have we become complicated folks? Do we analyse too much before we become convinced? Or are we willing to trust God more? Sometimes in our quest for development and progress, we may have become more and more sophisticated and complicated, and lost our simplicity in life.

Easter Monday

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Some people may think that a white lie is ok but other lies are not ok (or some may even think that other lies are ok). However, a lie is a lie, no matter what colour it may be. When a person lies, that person is trying to protect something or someone, or perhaps to save face, or to avoid an embarassing or incriminating situation.

The chief priests and elders in today’s Gospel are caught lying to save their own skin. They were more concerned about themselves and their establishment, and were not willing to accept or admit the truth about Jesus. Even the guards who witnessed the resurrection were not willing to put their lives in jeopardy over an itinerant preacher like Jesus, since they could be executed if the truth comes out. So, to muddle up things and to protect their own interests, money is once again involved. Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and once again He is “betrayed” with a considerable sum of money. Not only were these people guilty of bearing false witness, they were also guilty of greed.

What about us? Are we guilty of bearing false witness and greed today? Are we no different than the chief priests and elders or the soldiers in today’s Gospel? Is the truth too difficult to swallow? We may try to hide or cover up the truth, but as a Malay proverb reminds us: “sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga.” (loosely translated in English as: “No matter how good a squirrel is at jumping around trees, in the end it will fall to the ground.”). Are we going to wait until we are finally exposed for the lies uttered? Why do some of us imprison ourselves with lies and more lies, only to bring ourselves to ruin or cause ourselves to be worse off later?

Easter Sunday

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Some of us may have been running for something throughout our lives. We run for a better life or for a better job. We run for happiness. We run for the ideal girlfriend or boyfriend. Some of us, on the other hand, run away from something. We run away from our brokenness or from our broken families. We run away from our miserableness due to a job or a relationship. We run away from pain and suffering, or from our fears. Some people run to Church to get away from their problems, others may stay late at work to run away from their problems. People seem to be doing quite a bit of “running” these days. However, no matter how much we run for something or away from something, we can never run forever.

Today we celebrate Easter Sunday. Today, God is inviting us to stop running and come back to Him. The empty tomb in today’s Gospel is a reminder to us that God has emerged victorious. We do not need to run anymore, since God has won the race for us. Our problems are no longer problems, when we recognise that God is there for us and He can guide and help us, no matter how big or small the problem may be. We may feel entombed by our difficulties and problems, but if we trust in God’s love and care, we know that we can be redeemed and freed from our “tombs.” Let us thus rejoice, for God is there, He is resurrected.

Housekeeping – Holy Week

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For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:

13 April 2014 – Palm Sunday
14 April 2014 – Monday of Holy Week
15 April 2014 – Tuesday of Holy Week
16 April 2014 – Wednesday of holy Week
17 April 2014 – Maundy (Holy) Thursday
18 April 2014 – Good Friday
19 April 2014 – Easter Vigil

Easter Vigil

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Darkness… reminds us of the darkness of sin, the darkness of evil, the darkness of death, pain and suffering. Sometimes, the darkness seems so overbearing and overwhelming, death seems to be the end. Sometimes, our problems and suffering seem so unbearable that we feel like giving up. Darkness seems to rule us and seems to engulf us in a chasm of doom and despair.

However, this Easter Vigil night, no matter how dark the situation may seem be, no matter how bad things may seem to be, no matter how big the problem, no matter how powerful death and suffering may appear, none of these can defeat the power of the resurrection. Easter is our victory over darkness. Jesus is risen.

Let us therefore not behave like there is no hope, like this is the end, because tonight is a new beginning. Let us with renewed confidence and trust march on, for God is on our side. He has defeated death. He has won a great victory for us. Let us proclaim “alleluia” and share this good news to all the ends of the earth.

Good Friday

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Our God is with us at all times. Don’t care whether it is good times or bad times, sickness or health, joy or sorrow, life or death, God is there. Today, we are reminded of God who hangs on the cross. The cross was a tool of humiliation, of suffering, of slow and painful death. Extremely bad people were the ones normally crucified on the cross. But here, we have God who hangs on the cross.

Why did God hang on the cross? It is precisely because of His immense love for us. He wants to save us from our sins. He is crucified by our own sinfulness, our indifference, our ambitions, our greed, our selfishness, our inability to forgive, our pride, our anger, etc. The cross is transformed from an instrument of death, to a symbol of God’s unconditional love. The cross shows that God is even prepared to take the place of the worst kind of sinners by being executed like a criminal, so that we can be saved from our sins.

Are we willing to carry our crosses and die to our sins? Are we willing to wholeheartedly and enthusiastically love God and people, regardless of whether they have been good or bad to us? God died on the cross to save all of us. Are we humble enough to follow His example?

Maundy (Holy) Thursday

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In today’s liturgy, we are reminded of Jesus’ commandment that we are to “love one another as I have loved you. We are also reminded to “Do this in memory of me.” “Do this in memory of me” means that we are to imitate the entire life of Jesus, not just pick and choose what we like. We must love, forgive, show compassion and serve one another as Jesus did to all. We must give up our lives as Jesus did on the cross. Jesus showed us an example of loving one another by washing the feet of His disciples. By doing so, He humbled himself by taking on the role of a slave to serve others, and challenged us to serve as He did.

If we look at our lives, are we following Jesus’ commandment to love and serve as He did? Are we humble enough to forgive others, just as God has forgiven us? We ask so much from God, but are we equally generous in giving to others what we have received from His bounty? Let us be genuine and generous in our love and service, as we strive to grow closer to God.

Wednesday of Holy Week

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We sometimes hear of people betraying other people for one reason or another. Sometimes the reason could be personal pride, greed, money, jealousy, rage, etc. What some of these betrayers do not realise is that they may not necessarily get the “reward” promised to them at the end. We hear of cases where a person betrays another for an agreed reward, only to be put to death by those who hired the betrayer, as they may decide to destroy any evidence of involvement and they may not trust the betrayer to keep silent. As some say, dead men tell no tales.

Today, we see Judas receiving 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus. We are already reminded in Monday’s Gospel that Judas “was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contributions.” So 30 pieces of silver seemed a nice sum for him and something hard to resist. The problem is, is friendship so cheap that it can be sold for 30 pieces of silver, which is the price of a slave? Like Judas, some of us give little thought to the consequences of our sins. Some of us only look at self-gratification and temporary pleasure we get from committing such sins, and never stop to think about its long-term consequences. We are blinded by our personal interests, and we forget that we are selling our souls just for a measly sum. Why do we commit such acts only for temporary gratification but could lead us to an eternity away from God? Do we consider ourselves so cheap and worthless that even that temporary sinful act is enough for us, only to suffer eternal consequences?

Tuesday of Holy Week

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Each of us experiences our days and our nights. Life is never the same, since we have choices to make, and sometimes these choices will influence how our life turns out. We are given many opportunities to let God steer us closer to Him, but our behaviour, attitude, stubbornness, pride, etc. can cause us to drift further and further away, especially when our minds and hearts remain closed and we choose to avoid His loving embrace. Indeed, it may sound strange or tragic, but there are people who vehemently choose to remain away from God.

Today’s Gospel tells us of Judas. Jesus knew what he was up to, and he was given a choice to stay with the group or betray Him. One can imagine the turmoil which may have initially been going on in Judas’ heart, but when one is further engulfed in wrongdoing, in sin, in dissatisfaction, etc., one becomes more and more convinced to make an alternative choice. Judas took the bread and then left. Night had fallen. A soul had made its choice.

Which path are we choosing? Are we heading the same direction as Judas chose to go? Or are we choosing to remain in that narrow road whic leads to life? Let us not be distracted or diverted from making a wise choice.