For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
11 January 2015 – Baptism of the Lord
12 January 2015 – Monday of Week 1 Year 1
13 January 2015 – Tuesday of Week 1 Year 1
14 January 2015 – Wednesday of Week 1 Year 1
15 January 2015 – Thursday of Week 1 Year 1
16 January 2015 – Friday of Week 1 Year 1
Nowadays, disabilities, diseases and illnesses are usually attributed to some sort of genetic matter, or due to viruses, bacteria or some other cause. Advances in medicine and other forms of therapy and healing have enabled us to reduce or even remove the effects of some of these disabilities, diseases and illnesses. However, in ancient times, disabilities, diseases and illnesses were often connected with sin, be it personal sin or the sin of an earlier generation. This could lead those afflicted with such disabilities, diseases and illnesses to dwell in their own guilt and unforgiveness. They could not forgive themselves for being in the situation they are in, and in some cases, they could not forgive their parents or ancestors who may have sinned and caused them to be in such a state.
The paralytic man in today’s Gospel could have been experiencing these feelings and thoughts. This is why Jesus said to him: “My child, your sins are forgiven.” To hear such words from Jesus would have been uplifting and gratifying for the paralytic man. What Jesus was doing was basically to help the paralytic man be released from his mindset where disabilities, diseases and illnesses were thought to be a result of sin; and at the same time to heal the man. However, those around Jesus were still stuck in such a mindset and that is why they thought to themselves, “How can this man talk like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God?” But what did Jesus do? He challenged all around Him to open their minds and hearts and be free from such pre-conceived thoughts, and proved to them that He had the authority not only to forgive sins, but also to heal the man completely. What an experience these people had! They were so astounded and taken aback with what they witnessed, and praised God saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
What about us? Are some of us having such a mindset, especially when it seems as if modern medicine does not seem to be helping? Are we still dwelling in our feelings and thoughts of worthlessness, anger, fear or even despair. Let us be reminded that just as Jesus healed the paralytic man, He can heal us too. Are we willing to be humble and patient and put our trust and confidence in Him, knowing that He would do what is best for us?
It is unfortunate and tragic when we come across people who decide to abandon their faith and belief in God over some matter or situation. But that is what could possibly happen, especially when a person has become so engrossed in the ways of the world and begin to think that they are self-sufficient, self-made and can do without God. This is something which we, as a Christian community should watch out for, as we shall see in today’s reading.
In today’s reading, we are cautioned: “Take care, brothers, that there is not in any one of your community a wicked mind, so unbelieving as to turn away from the living God. Every day, as long as this ‘today’ lasts, keep encouraging one another so that none of you is hardened by the lure of sin, because we shall remain co-heirs with Christ only if we keep a grasp on our first confidence right to the end.” When a person seems to be doing well or having it good in life, the person may be tempted to enjoy life and seek out more ways and means to remain as they are, and they may forget themselves, forget others, and may ultimately even forget God.
Let us not forget that our life here on earth is only temporary, and we are merely pilgrims. What we enjoy is also temporary and when the fun ends, we will never be satisfied and become restless, until we find satisfaction and rest, as St. Augustine reminds us, in the Lord.
Every once in a while, we hear of priests or religious being transferred from one community to another or from one parish to another or even from one role to another. There are many reasons why priests or religious are transferred, and one reason can be found in today’s Gospel.
In the Gospel, we read: “In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.’ And he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.”
Jesus could have easily decided to settle down in one place, make Himself comfortable, and carry out His mission there. But as we can see from the Gospel, His mission was not only for one place indefinitely; He also went to other places to preach and cast out devils. By doing so, Jesus set an example for us to follow. Some of us may have become too used to a place, and we should be enthusiastic to go forth and preach the Good News, not stay put and take things easy or for granted. If some day we are asked to move on, let us humbly and joyfully do so, for the greater glory of God.
What does it mean to have authority? The word “authority” can be used to mean power given by the state (in the form of government, judges, police officers, etc.) or by academic knowledge of an area (someone can be an authority on a subject). However, these forms of authority do not last forever and do not always command the respect and voluntary obedience of others. Also, we have seen many instances of people who have been granted such authority turning out to be arrogant, conceited, corrupted or misusing their position for their own purposes. These people may have so called political or intellectual authority, but they may not necessarily have moral or spiritual authority.
In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus whose “teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.” Also, the Gospel tells us: “The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.'” How was Jesus different from the scribes, and what sort of authority did He hold? Jesus was different because He had moral and spiritual authority, as He was one with the Father. Jesus shows us that His authority stems from the fact that what He is teaching and doing is not for His own personal gratification or benefit, but for the greater glory of God. Jesus is inviting us to follow His example and grow in our moral and spiritual authority by maintaining a good relationship with God. Are we willing to nurture this form of authority, or are we still wandering around seeking for temporary authority?
What sort of leader do we look for in church? Some of us look for a leader who can speak well or have good eloquence or has as some may say, the gift of the gab. Some of us may look for someone who could be a good organiser or a capable peacemaker. Some of us may look for someone who is charismatic and able to rile up the crowd into action. But how did Jesus choose leaders? Did he look for leaders the way some of us do?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus simply saw and called out to Simon and his brother Andrew, as well as James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus did not make any grand or elaborate speech about following Him, but merely said: “Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.” We do not have much details about whether these men had previously encountered Jesus, since the Gospel does not tell us everything, but Jesus must have been quite an extraordinary person in the minds and hearts of these men to enable them to just leave everything and follow Him.
An interesting observation we could gather from today’s Gospel is this: When other leaders rein in their supporters, they are actually gathering supporters and followers for their own benefit. They call on people to follow them so that they would have the support or clout to accomplish their goals. But what we see here in Jesus is different. He called these men to follow Him so that He could form them and make them into fishers of men. By doing so, Jesus was preparing these men not for his own political or personal benefit, but for mission for the greater glory of God.
As Christians, some of us may be called into certain leadership positions in church. Let us follow the example of Jesus, and help our fellow brothers and sisters to become fishers of men, so that we as a people of God could grow in relationship with Him and help others do the same.
There are many things in life which some of us long for. Some of us long for sufficient wealth, some long for job or financial security, some long for titles and recognition, some long for a good family (especially a good and loving husband or wife), some long for good health and being free from major illnesses, some even long for a better quality of life. But among all these things we may long for, the one thing which perhaps we long for the most is happiness. Some of us try to gain happiness in one of the many ways and things we long for, only to find that these do not really grant us happiness, since happiness is not something we can buy or achieve.
Happiness, as today’s readings show us, is a precious gift from God. In the first reading, Isaiah tells us: “Why spend money on what is not bread, your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy. Pay attention, come to me; listen, and your soul will live.” When we accept God’s gift of happiness, come to Him and listen to Him, we will be cared for and be satisfied. This understanding of happiness was also experienced by Jesus at his baptism where God the Father said to Him: “This is my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on him.” Even though Jesus experienced much persecution and rejection, He knew that what mattered most is that God loved Him and nothing, not even death on the cross, could change that.
God is inviting each and every one of us today to be happy and satisfied in Him. He is calling out to us, treating us as His beloved and His precious. We do not need to prove ourselves to God, and there is no need for us to run around in circles looking elsewhere for happiness and satisfaction. Let us seize this free opportunity to experience true happiness and true satisfaction in God, and let Him be our loving guide.
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
4 January 2015 – Epiphany
5 January 2015 – Monday after Epiphany
6 January 2015 – Tuesday after Epiphany
7 January 2015 – Wednesday after Epiphany
8 January 2015 – Thursday after Epiphany
9 January 2015 – Friday after Epiphany
Some of us seem to have lots of things to do each day, and sometimes our involvement in doing so many things could lead some us to a crisis. On the one hand, we need to be active in ministry, but when we become too engrossed in active ministry, we face the danger of being worn out, tired and in some cases, burned out. On the other hand, when we begin to live a passive life and not do anything, we may lose touch of our ministry and in some cases, even our purpose as Christians. Both extremes certainly are not good for our well-being. So what do we do?
In today’s Gospel, we can learn from Jesus on how to be balanced in our ministry. The Gospel tells us: “His reputation continued to grow, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured, but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray.” Notice that Jesus was not always teaching and helping people. He also took time off to be alone and pray. We must remember that we are not superman or superwoman; we can only do so much. What we can do, we do our best, and the rest, let us leave it in the hands of the Lord. God will take care of the rest in His time. Are we willing, patient and humble enough to let God be God?
The world that we live in can sometimes be quite an unloving place for some of us. There are people who live lives as if only they mattered and everyone else is insignificant or useful only where it suits them. There are people who love, but their love is often attached with some term or condition. There are also people who are genuine and selfless in their love, but such people are not always so easy or apparent to find, as more and more people become individualistic and materialistic. What sort of person have you become at this stage of your life?
In today’s reading, we are reminded: “We are to love, because God loved us first. Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen. So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother.” The reading also tells us that God’s commandments are not difficult. We make the commandments difficult and complicate our lives and the lives of others because of our pride and prejudice, our ego, our self-interests and also because we have been stubborn and refused to be honest, genuine and true in our love. Are we willing to change our ways and attitudes, so that with God’s grace, we can learn to love the way He loves us all?
