Monthly Archives: November 2014

When we are involved in a church ministry, we may sometimes wonder why a particular person is chosen to be the leader. Sometimes the leader was voted in, sometimes the leader could have taken it upon himself or herself to be the leader, sometimes the leader was appointed by the parish priest, but whatever the circumstances is, the persons in leadership are supposed to be leaders for a purpose and not for show or for their personal gratification.

The 12 appointed by Jesus in today’s Gospel too had a purpose and perhaps we could learn how Jesus appointed them. From the Gospel, we read that:

1. Jesus summoned those he wanted.
• He did not call just anybody, but those He wanted.
2. They came to him and he appointed twelve.
• Notice that they came to Jesus and not Jesus going looking for them. This shows that there is a primary authority to be approached and that primary authority is Jesus.
• Notice also that Jesus appointed them, and not they voting who would be chosen, or taking the appointment upon themselves.
3. They were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils.
• These are the purposes of their appointment: to be his companions, to be sent out to preach, and to cast out devils.

Let us examine our involvement in church today and how we have been appointing leaders. Have we been appointing leaders because we like them, or because they are popular, or because we just want to get the task done and over with? Remember that leaders are there not to lord it over others, but to serve others for the greater glory of God.

Many of us turn to Jesus for so many reasons. We seek Him for help, for things, for wants or needs to be granted, for comfort, for advice, for so many different reasons indeed. In our zeal to ask Jesus for this or that, we may inadvertently fall into a consumerism mentality. We may begin to behave as if Jesus is like some sort of vending machine or like Santa Claus, where we constantly seek Him and pester Him to give us what we want or need.

Whatever Jesus may grant us, many of us may ask for more and more, and we may even almost crush Him in order to get what we want from Him. As we read in today’s Gospel, Jesus even had to get onto a boat to keep Himself from being crushed, so that He could continue to heal the people. But some questions we need to ask ourselves are: Are we grateful and thankful to Jesus for the things He has done for us? Or have we become accustomed in expecting Jesus to grant all of our desires, and when He has not yet done so, we begin to throw a tantrum, complain, get angry, pout or go elsewhere for help? What have we done for Jesus in return?

Today’s reading reminds us that “the power of Jesus to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him.” While Jesus is there for us to care for us and to save us from our sins, perhaps we should take an honest look at ourselves: How are we bringing Jesus’ message of love and compassion to others? What are we willing to give up and offer to Him as a loving sacrifice?

Sometimes we come across certain people who have become so hardened and set with their way of thinking or their way of doing things, so much so that everything else is irrelevant or a threat to them. Such people have perhaps allowed pride and arrogance to take control of their lives, and we may not be able change their hearts and minds so easily. When faced with such persons, how would you respond? How should a Christian respond to such persons?

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus continuously facing such people among the Pharisees. Even though He knew that they were so obstinate and so determined to kill Him or destroy Him in one way or another, He did not give up on them. Instead, He tried to show them what ought to be the right thing to do when He said: “Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?” Even then, the Pharisees proved to be really hard nuts to crack, and they were still determined to get rid of Jesus. But Jesus kept on finding ways and means to try and help them, and we see some examples of Pharisees such as Nicodemus who did change, though in secret.

If we are facing such people today, let us not so easily give up and give in. We cannot change everybody or everything, but whatever we are able to do, we do it for the greater glory of God. Ultimately, we offer such persons to God. God can do wonders in His time, so let us be steadfast and consistent in our prayer and efforts, and let God take care of the rest.

When one plans to compete in a marathon, one would make effort to eat well, exercise regularly, have enough rest and make other necessary changes to one’s lifestyle so that the marathon could be completed successfully. For some, it does not matter what position one achieves, since it is the completion that matters. For others, they would try to win a medal or a prize. But whatever one’s motivation is to participate in the marathon, perseverance and persistence is needed.

The same principle applies when preaching the Good News and serving others. We need to be prepared, persevere and be persistent in our efforts, for what we are doing is not for our own selves, but for the glory of God. There are times where our efforts seem to be not as fruitful as we wanted, but what matters is not how effective or efficient we have been, what matters is how earnest and diligent we are in performing our tasks. As today’s reading reminds us: “God would not be so unjust as to forget all you have done, the love that you have for his name or the services you have done, and are still doing, for the saints. Our one desire is that every one of you should go on showing the same earnestness to the end, to the perfect fulfilment of our hopes, never growing careless, but imitating those who have the faith and the perseverance to inherit the promises.” We cannot do everything and we cannot change everyone, but let us not grow careless or complacent in our efforts, but be faithful and consistent, for the rewards are certainly out of this world.

As children, we were often taught and reminded to obey our parents, our teachers and other persons in authority. We knew the consequences of not obeying and most of us would do our best to toe the line or to be in our best behaviour. But as we grew older, some of us may have become rebellious in one way or another. Some of us think that we know it all, or that we can take care of ourselves, but by doing so, some of us may end up in greater trouble.

Perhaps an excellent example of obedience can be found in today’s reading concerning Jesus. The reading tells us: “During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.” Jesus showed us what it means to obey and submit to God, and by doing so, He became a source of eternal salvation to all of us. It is actually liberating and advantageous to obey, since by being docile and humble enough to hear and obey God’s voice, we have no reason and no need to fear, for God will be our providence and guide. Let us offer ourselves in obedience to God, so that we can be like new wine in new skins, and be His witnesses to all.