Faithfulness and Love

Monthly Archives: December 2015

Thursday of the 3rd Week of Easter

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I have done many baptisms throughout my ministry and so far, I have noticed that in these baptisms, there is quite a bit of rejoicing and happiness. If the baptised is a baby, the parents, grandparents, Godparents and guests are rejoicing and all-smiles, as a new member has come forth from the family, even though the baby may be unaware of what is going on. If the baptised is a child or an adult, not only the parents, grandparents, Godparents and guests are rejoicing and all-smiles, the baptised too are excited, rejoicing and happy for having received new life and God’s salvation. In today’s reading, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing, after being baptised by Philip.

It is good to rejoice when a new person receives baptism, since the person has become a child of God. But let us not just rejoice at that point of time and that’s that. We should continue to live a life of rejoicing in God’s love and care, and share this life of rejoicing with all we meet. If something is so significant and worth rejoicing, surely we would not want to keep it under wraps, but share the joy around. So let us renew our efforts with joy, enthusiasm and exuberance, so that all would come to know what it means to be a Christian.

Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Easter

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There are many things that we cannot see, yet we believe that such things exist. For example, we cannot see germs or bacteria, but we experience their effects. We cannot see electricity, but we experience the effects of electricity through the many appliances it provides power to, so that our lives would be easier or more convenient. But the irony is: sometimes we may be able to see something, and yet we are not able to believe what we are seeing. Why is this so? Sometimes it could be because the something is so shocking, spectacular, disturbing or flabbergasting that we may be at a lost of words and unable to comprehend what is happening or has just happened. Sometimes it could be because we are so set in our way of thinking or doing things, that other ways of thinking or doing things are seen as a threat or not worth our attention.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst. But, as I have told you, you can see me and still you do not believe.” The people had seen Jesus say and do so many things. They had witnessed so many healings and miracles performed by Jesus. But some of the people, especially the scribes and the Pharisees, were so fixated and stubborn with their way of thinking and their way of doing things, that no matter what Jesus said or did, they chose to remain closed to the Good News being proclaimed by Jesus. They knew who Jesus was, but chose to find ways and means to get rid of Him, since what Jesus said and did was challenging their authority and going against the status quo. To them, personal survival, personal status and self-preservation was more important than listening to God’s voice and doing what is just and right.

What about us? Have we too become or are becoming like the scribes and Pharisees? Do we value only our views, so much so that Jesus’ teachings, God’s commandments and many other things have taken a back seat or ignored completely? May we continue to take courage and say and do what is right, and let God be our providence and guide.

Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Easter

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There are some topics of discussion which could cause people to become very excited or passionate in expressing their views, opinions and thoughts. One such topic would be politics, where people sometimes get into intense argument and may begin to take sides and insist that a particular political party or persons within that party are good, bad or somewhere in between. Another such topic would be food, since each person would have his or her favourite food and favourite location where such food could be found. But if we look at such topics carefully, we would discover that these topics are only temporary. People could change allegience from one political party or person to another, due to changes in circumstances or situation. Likewise, people could change their preference for food and where to find such food, due to various reasons.

But there is one topic that will not change, and that is Jesus’ invitation to come to Him and believe in Him, as today’s Gospel tells us: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.” When we remain in Jesus and believe in Him, we have something which is constant, dependable, reliable and accessible. Political parties and persons come and go. Food comes and goes, since places and persons also come and go. But Jesus remains at all times and in all places. So, if that is the case, shouldn’t we make more effort in being with Jesus, receiving Him regularly, and letting Him be our help and guide?

Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter

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It is interesting to observe the habits, behaviour and attitude of some people when it comes to food. Some people are very choosy about what they eat, and such persons would eat only at certain places and eat only certain kinds of food. Some people are food enthusiasts, and such persons would be more than willing to travel long distances to savour food which may not be available at where they come from, or such food may not taste that great and the place where they go to offers a much better taste. Some people are food addicts, and they would eat almost the same thing over and over again, since trying or tasting once does not seem to satisfy their taste buds. But all these people have one thing in common: the food that they eat can only be enjoyed for a short time, after which the food would be processed by the body, some of the nutrients would be absorbed by the body, and waste would be excreted from the body. Such food would never satisfy completely, and one would end up hungry again after a while.

This is why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us: “Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.” The food that Jesus is offering us is the Eucharist, His Body and Blood. Such food is to satisfy our soul and to give us life. Seeing that such food can last for the good of our soul, why are some of us not receiving it regularly? Some of us make so much effort to seek and enjoy food here on earth which delights us only for a short moment. But what about food for our soul, which would delight us eternally? May we get our priorities right and make more effort to receive such heavenly food regularly, for the betterment of our eternal future.

Friday of the 2nd Week of Easter

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It is easy for some of us to get carried away with a certain task, or a certain situation or event, or a certain activity. When we get carried away, our emotions and feelings sometimes get the better of us, and some of us may not be able to see the task, situation, event or activity from a different angle. This could happen especially when we are so focused in getting things done or dealing with such situations, that our mind may become stuck and it seems to us as if there is only one way to complete the task or resolve the situation. But sometimes, there comes a time or a situation arises where we may need to think outside the box, but we cannot seem to get out of the present state of mind or thinking we may be in. Then what do we do?

What we may need to do is to have someone like Gamaliel in today’s reading to advice us and shake things up a bit, so we could reconsider or re-evaluate the situation. The members of the Sanhedrin were already so overcome with anger and jealousy that they were on the verge of destroying the apostles, but what they failed to realise is that what the apostles were doing is not of human origin, but of divine origin, and as Gamaliel rightly cautioned them, they may actually find themselves fighting against God. Fortunately for the members of the Sanhedrin, Gamaliel was in the right place and at the right time to help them think outside the box, and let the apostles be.

What about us? Do we have persons in our lives who could help us see things from a different perspective? Or are we ourselves, in one way or another, helping others to see things differently? May we be humble and docile enough to accept the advice of others, and see situations from a different angle or perspective, so that in all we do, may we give glory to God.

Thursday of the 2nd Week of Easter

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Supposing your parents were to ask you to carry out a task which would make them happy, and the task is okay in matters of faith and morals. Quite likely you would get the task done, since you would want to maintain a good relationship with your parents. Likewise, supposing your boss in the company you work in asks you to carry out certain tasks for the benefit of the company, and such a task is also okay in matters of faith and morals. Once again, you would probably get the task done, since by doing so, you might get a good job review or evaluation, and you might stand a good chance to get a salary raise or move up the career ladder. Sounds so far so good, isn’t it?

But what if you are put in a quandary? What if your parents demand that you do something that would make them happy, but by doing so, you would be breaking God’s commandments and the laws of the church? For example, your wife has conceived but the foetus has been found to have some sort of defect, and your parents feel that having such a baby would be an embarrasment to the family honour, and so your parents have demanded that the foetus be aborted to “safe face” and protect the family interests. Would you do as what your parents have demanded? Likewise, supposing your boss demands that you conduct certain unscrupulous tasks, such as sabotaging a rival company’s products, or coming up with statements or claims to put down or belittle a rival company’s reputation or products, all for the sake of eliminating the competition. Would we do as our boss says?

We hope that we would not have the misfortune of being confronted with such difficult choices, or face such dilemmas as mentioned. But sometimes, life does give us such tough situations and we need to make a choice or take a stand. In today’s reading, we are reminded that “Obedience to God comes before obedience to men.” In reality, when confronted with such difficult decisions, would we truly, honestly and unreservedly choose to obey God, or would we succumb to obeying men, just to save face, or to save our skin? Whatever choice we make, may we choose wisely, for our eternal future is at stake.

Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Easter

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In recent times, we have seen certain people or certain leaders doing nasty or naughty things and then trying to find ways and means to hide their actions. Some of such persons and leaders even resort to twisting and manipulating the laws of the country to try and protect themselves by persecuting those who are trying to expose them, or those who are trying to uphold the truth and what is right. Such persons, whom we sometimes call “whistleblowers,” end up being silenced; some end up being imprisoned; and some even end up dead. But how long can these persons or leaders continue their charade? One day, their deeds and crimes will be exposed, either in this life or in the hereafter. If any of us are like such persons or leaders, would we stubbornly continue to try and hide, thinking we could continue as normal? Or would we rather change our ways and make amends with God and with others before it is too late?

In today’s Gospel, we read: “though the light has come into the world men have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil. And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed; but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.” A person could try to hide evil deeds, corruption and other misdeeds, but one cannot hide indefinitely. Even if one thinks one could hide from others, such despicable acts or deeds would eventually become known by others, especially since information can spread so quickly and so easily in various ways these days. Moreover, such persons cannot hide from God, since all a person has done or failed to do would be presented when the time for God’s judgement comes. Are we going to lose our eternal life, just to save face only for a short moment here on earth?

Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Easter

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Over the years, it has become more and more challenging to live out Christian ideals and way of life. This is because the ways of the world and the many attractions it offers have become more and more enticing and appealing to many. Some of us may have become more and more engrossed with what the world offers, since some of us do not want to be left out or left behind. Some of us feel that it is important to keep up with progress and improve on our standard of living. But the question is: where do we draw the line? Do we embrace the ways of the world, even to the point of abandoning Christian living and Christian virtues? Do we succumb to the demands of the world, and forgo what is proper and just according to what Jesus has taught us?

In today’s reading, we are told about the early Christian community and the sort of attitude and way of life they lived: “The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common. None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any members who might be in need.”

Could we ever go back to such a way of living? Would we be willing to make sacrifices and be willing to share whatever we have with others? The ways of the world seem to tell us that our rights are more important; that what is ours is ours; that we must protect our interests at all costs. But from the reading, we seem to be encouraged to share instead. Do we really want to follow Jesus and His ways, and be ready and willing to share, for the betterment of the Christian community and for the glory of God? Or have we become so accustomed to the ways of the world, so much so that some of us may have become more and more alienated from others, even though we call ourselves Christians?

Baptism of the Lord

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Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river by John the Baptist. When Jesus approached John for baptism, John initially refused to baptise Him, because John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, because he felt unworthy, and also because Jesus should have been the one baptising him. However, Jesus insisted upon John baptising Him to fulfil all righteousness, since even though Jesus did not sin, He chose to be baptised to signify His union with the sinfulness of humanity, for whom He came to redeem from such sin.

When Jesus came out of the waters of baptism, things changed in His life. His baptism became the beginning of His public ministry. It also showed His close relationship with God as expressed in the words: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus became an example to all of us of how to be in the right relationship with God by always doing what was righteous for the sake of building up the Kingdom of God.

By nature of our own baptism, we died to our old sinful ways and have risen to new life in Jesus. Our lives have changed and with it come new Christian responsibilities. We are called to imitate the example of Jesus by doing God’s will every day in our lives and by using the grace that He gives us daily to help build up the kingdom of God. Just as God gave Jesus the power to go out and spread His love in the world, so too does He give us the same Spirit to do good in the world. May we then go forth to proclaim the Good News with joy, enthusiasm and vigour; and do our part in building God’s Kingdom, for His greater glory.

Dec 28 – The Holy Innocents, Martyrs – Feast

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There is a song titled “The Greatest Love of All” originally sung by George Benson and later covered by Whitney Houston, and part of the words in the song are: “I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride, to make it easier, let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.” These words give us the impression and understanding that children ought to be loved, cared for, and protected. However, this is not always the case. In some countries and in some places, children are being mistreated, abused and even exploited. As Christians, we are often reminded to be child-like, and Jesus often reminds us: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” But are we following what Jesus says? Are we like little children, and also making effort to protect children around us from harm?

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, where Herod out of his insecurity and insanity, ordered the massacre of infants at Bethlehem. To Herod, these children meant nothing to him, and he chose to eliminate them just because he feared one child, the infant Jesus. Herod was more interested in protecting his power, even to the point of committing murder, even though Jesus is king not of the kind which Herod thought. But Herod could not see that, since he was already consumed and blinded with greed, pride, ego, power and prestige.

Even today, this senseless brutality and exploitation towards children are being committed for political, racial and religious reasons. The Feast of the Holy Innocents remind us that it is our duty to protect the rights and dignity of children. Just as Mary and Joseph protected Jesus from the evil of Herod, we as Christians are reminded to protect the children from the various forms of evil against them. Are we doing our part, so that the children of our future are secured?