Faithfulness and Love

Monthly Archives: December 2015

Friday of the 7th Week of Easter

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It is easy for us to say “I love you,” but how many of us truly mean what we say? Do we say “I love you” but our actual meaning is merely “I like you,” or are the words “I love you” sincere and genuine? Would we be willing to love till it hurts, even to the point of death? For example, if someone is in grave danger and we are in a position to rescue the person, but in doing so we ourselves may end up dead, would we go ahead and attempt the rescue?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus asked Peter 3 times whether Peter loved Him. Peter had denied knowing Jesus when Jesus was on trial, but Jesus did not hold that against him. Instead, Jesus helped Peter come to terms with what it really means to love. Love is not just words but requires action, and in the case of Peter, Jesus had entrusted the care of His sheep to him. Not only that, Jesus reminded Peter: “I tell you most solemnly, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.” This shows that ultimately, Peter would be expected to love till it hurts, to love even to the point of death.

What about us? Do we really know the meaning of the words “I love you” after all? Are we willing to love even to the point of death? May we truly love and give our all, and show what it really means to be a Christian by our love.

Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter

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I believe all of us would have experienced some issue at some point of our lives, due to misunderstanding, differences in opinion, or some other criteria. Some of the issues we may have experienced may seem significant or serious, but sometimes necessarily so, especially since our minds may have become too fixated or closed to see the bigger picture, and we begin to squabble over petty things or trivial matters. When we are like this, we lose sight of our true purpose as Christians and end up wasting much time and energy over such petty things or trivial matters.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees had a problem with Paul. They were obstinate and refused to change when Jesus was around, and they were also equally obstinate with Paul. So Paul decided to shake things up a bit and demonstrate their narrow-mindedness. Paul pitted the scribes and Pharisees against the Sadducees by exclaiming: “Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” When he said this, the scribes and the Pharisees ganged up against the Sadducees and argued over differences of opinion which had nothing to do with why Paul was being arrested and put on trial in the first place. This shows that, the core issue which the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees had against Paul, was actually not really a big deal after all, since they could be so easily distracted with other things.

What about us? Have we become like the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Have we become so easily distracted by small matters or petty things, and neglected to address the bigger or more serious matters? May we learn to see the big picture, and free ourselves from such narrow-mindedness, so that we can truly live Christian lives, with love towards God and neighbour.

Wednesday of the 7th Week of Easter

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From time to time, we do come across, within a community, people who do things for their own benefit or own gain. Sometimes such people would try to influence the community to listen to them and follow their ways, to the eventual detriment of the community. We have seen how such individuals have betrayed or sold off their community just for some title, position, wealth or power and when such people have gotten what they wanted, they would disappear and let the community face the consequences.

This is why St. Paul in today’s reading warns us: “Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood. I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. So be on your guard…”

As leaders of a Christian community, we need to be discerning and careful not to allow certain individuals to wreak havoc and destruction to the community. While we should not become paranoid or suspicious of every person or every idea, we should seek God’s help and wisdom to ensure that all in the community are not led astray or duped into following false or wrong teaching. May we be vigilant, so that our community would grow according to God’s ways and glorify His Name.

Tuesday of the 7th Week of Easter

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Some of us go through life as if there does not seem to be much meaning. We get up, get ready, perhaps have a nice breakfast, go to work, slog it out for hours, then come back from work exhausted, probably have a shower then a light dinner, before we hit the sack, to repeat the whole process again. While it is necessary for us to survive in this world, and we need to take care of our life here on earth, is what we are doing day in day out all there is to life? Are we content in only focusing on living and surviving in this world, without much thought about our eternal future?

In today’s reading, St Paul reminds us: “But life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.” St Paul is reminding us that just living life as it is, or just talking about one’s present situation and one’s life, is insufficient. As Christians, we have an added dimension, that is, we are called to go forth and preach the Good News, and not only be content with letting life slip by or spending our time in idle chatter. May we take heed of St. Paul’s example, and do our part in building God’s Kingdom for His glory.

Monday of the 7th Week of Easter

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It is unavoidable that at some point of our lives, we would come into some form of conflict with others, or we may experience some form of persecution. This is because we as Christians follow Jesus, His way and His teaching. When we are faced with situations where we need to adhere to Christian principles at the expense of worldly principles, we are bound to clash with others who follow worldly principles, and who are trying to make us do the same.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us some reassuring, encouraging and comforting words: “In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.” Notice that Jesus did not say “may have trouble” but He said “will have trouble.” This shows that being a Christian is certainly not going to be easy, as there are many things that we adhere to which are against the ways of the world. So let us not be disheartened or even despair, as we have Jesus to guide and protect us, since He has already conquered the world, and with His help, we too can do the same.

Friday of the 6th Week of Easter

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There are times in life where we come across certain forms of irrational persecution going on around us. Some of such irrational persecution stems from the irrational fear certain parties have towards Christians, whom they accuse are out to convert them or weaken their faith. In recent times, we read of how some of these parties react, even to the point of seeing as a threat, certain ordinary objects, or even certain fixtures and fittings, just because such items are in the shape of a plus sign, which they consider to be the shape of a cross, no matter how absurd or ridiculous such a consideration or thought may be. However, fortunately for us, we do still have some rational and open minded leaders who see such things as petty issues which are being used by certain quarters, who are using religion merely to gain political mileage.

In today’s reading, we come across another example of such a rational and open minded leader who could clearly see that the Jews were making a concerted attack on Paul and bringing him before the tribunal, merely out of jealousy and not because Paul had done anything wrong. This leader is Gallio who was proconsul of Achaia. Even though the Jewish crowd tried to create a ruckus by turning on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house, Gallio still refused to take any notice at all. As far as Gallio was concerned, Paul was innocent in Roman law, and he refused to allow the Jews to incite him to take any action.

If we are leaders in our community, or even if we are political leaders, may we learn from today’s reading and call a spade a spade. Instead of misusing religion for political grounds or for personal gain, may we learn to do what is right and just, since we ought to be leaders for the service of all, and not leaders for our own glory.

Wednesday of the 6th Week of Easter

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Christian faith is such that we need to have an experience of it, as well as proper teaching of it. We cannot depend only on the experience of it, since we may not understand what is it we are really believing, and sometimes people could lead us astray with an experience of faith which has been manipulated by them for their own agenda. On the other hand, we cannot have only an intellectual-based faith, where we only learn about it but have no inkling about what it feels like, especially feeling the presence of God.

That is why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come.” Jesus has taught the disciples much, but depending on teaching alone is not sufficient. Experiencing the Holy Spirit is also necessary, so that we would be fired up and strengthened to go forth and preach the Good News with joy and courage. May we always strive to understand our faith well through proper study, and let the Holy Spirit fill us with love, strength, compassion and vigour, so that we may truly be His diciples bringing the Good News to all the earth.

Saints Philip and James, Apostles – Feast

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In every Christian community, there needs to be a balance of missionary spirit and community life. We cannot ignore one or the other. If we focus only in mission, we may forget our identity as Christians, that is we are Christians not as individuals, but as a community. On the other hand, if we focus too much on the Christian community, we may neglect our mission in bringing the Good News to all. So, we need to be balanced as a Christian community and as Christian missionaries, since both are needed for us Christians to grow and flourish.

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Philip and James. St. Philip was the one who sincerely and joyfully told Nathanael that he had found the Messiah and encouraged him to come and see for himself. Yet it was also this same Philip, as mentioned in today’s Gospel, who asked Jesus to let him see God the Father so that he will be satisfied. James (the Lesser) was the apostle who, together with St. Peter, settled the issue about accepting non-Jews into the faith without having to be circumcised and taught the Law of Moses.

In St. Philip and St. James, we see the missionary aspect and the community aspect of the Christian community which needs to be addressed and balanced. St. Philip showed us an example the missionary aspect by bringing others to Jesus, Nathanael in this case. St. James showed us an example of the community aspect, by making a decision which affected the growth and well-being of the community, by not imposing non-essential customs and practices on the non-Jews. May we learn, through the example of Saints Philip and James, how to strike a balance between missionary spirit and community life, so that we as a Christian community could grow more like our Lord Jesus Christ.

Monday of the 6th Week of Easter

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Some of us may have heard of the country ballad by Carrie Underwood titled “I Told You So,” and some of the words are: “I told you so, oh I told you so, I told you some day you come crawling back and asking me to take you in…” In this song, the lyrics seem to show one person gloating over, or speaking in a condescending manner towards another person, for not listening to, or refusing to accept, or rejecting, advice or suggestions. When a person uses such word like “I Told You So,” it is possible that the person may “brag” over it, or the person may feel proud and “wise” for having said something towards another person, and the other person had not listened and ended up with issues or problems. But as Christians, is this the sort of attitude or behaviour we encourage?

In today’s Gospel, we see an example where Jesus said “I have told you all this” and even said it three times. Jesus said “I have told you all this” not to prove what He said was true, but so that when the time for those events have to come to pass, His disciples may remember that Jesus had told them. Jesus is helping His disciples, and us too, to remember that we must always be prepared and ready for anything, and remain in God’s love and care.

As Christians, we are called to be prophets. What does that mean? It basically means that we are to speak the truth and tell it as it is, no matter how hard or difficult the message may be to accept, for the good of those who are supposed to receive the message. But the prophet is saying such truth or message not to show how clever or wise the prophet is, but to do the will of God and deliver God’s message and warning to those who need to know. The prophet is not interested in bragging, or gloating, or saying “I told you so,” to appease one’s personal ego or gratification, since the prophet is merely doing one’s duty. Are we also doing our duty faithfully?

Friday of the 5th Week of Easter

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What sort of love do we have towards others? Do we love only because it is advantageous to us or convenient to us? Do we love because the other person loves us? Do we love because the other person is nice to us or good to us? Do we love because of some other reason? Or could we ever love without needing a reason, that is, unconditionally, with no strings attached?

Perhaps the greatest kind of love we could manifest is mentioned in the Gospel: “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” Just as Jesus laid down His life to save us from our sins, we too are asked to do the same. Jesus loved us, and so we too are asked to love others, even to the point of losing our life. Are we willing to follow Jesus’ example in truly and genuinely loving, without counting the costs?

Today, the world is infested with a kind of love that is conditional, a love which is selfish, a “what’s in it for me” kind of love. May we free ourselves from such kinds of love, and follow Jesus’ example in loving others completely, just as He showed us how to on the cross.