Faithfulness and Love

Monthly Archives: June 2016

Friday of Week 30 Year 1

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Extremism can come in many forms, and these days, we see more and more of religious extremism and intolerance happening. Extremists give the religion a bad name, since what they do and their way of thinking is actually distorted and diverted from what is the actual teaching of the particular religion. Such people take simple and straightforward teaching and make it complicated and radical. Sometimes, such extremists do such things to draw attention to themselves, and to attract especially the young to join their cause.

In today’s Gospel, we come across a bunch of extremists who are the lawyers and the Pharisees. These folks held an extreme view, among many things, about keeping the sabbath. To them, keeping the sabbath means absolutely no work can be done, not even good deeds. But Jesus caught them in an embarassing situation when He said: “‘Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a sabbath day without hesitation?’ And to this they could find no answer.”

When we are dealing with extremists, their minds are so warped and they have become so stubborn and obstinate, that even doing good and merciful acts are prohibited. This is why the lawyers and Pharisees could not and dared not answer Jesus’ challenge, since they would be conflicting their absurd position if they were to agree that such a good or merciful deed is permissable and commendable. What about us? Are some of us extremists in one way or another? Have we put people off or caused disharmony in our community with our extreme views through our behaviour, attitude and conduct? Let us do away with such extreme views, so that we may learn to live and love according to the ways of the Lord once again.

Tuesday of Week 30 Year 1

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Every once in a while, we come across people who think that their salvation is already guaranteed. Such persons think that their “saved” status can never be revoked, no matter what they have said or done. Some have even claimed that only a certain number of people would be saved, and they conveniently misquote scripture to support their views. But what is a Christian understanding of salvation? Are we really saved or not?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were – but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.” What does this mean to us? It means that we still need to continue living good Christian lives, as we await our hope for salvation. It also means that we cannot do as we please, thinking that we can get away with it, expecting to still be saved when what we have done is against God’s commandments. May we be consistent with our behaviour, conduct and attitude, as we await our hope for salvation, and inspire others to do the same.

Monday of Week 30 Year 1

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If you have a heart attack and you need to get to the hospital quickly for treatment, and the day when your heart attack happened is on the sabbath, would you go to the hospital quickly as planned, or would you say, “It’s the sabbath, so I will go the next day”? Or if your house is on fire and you need to rescue your family, but the fire is raging on the Sabbath, would you go ahead and rescue your family? Or would you say: “Oh no! It’s the Sabbath. I will rescue the family tomorrow.”? Or supposing it is the sabbath and your son has been bitten by a snake, and he will die if you do not bring him to the hospital quickly for immediate treatment, would you still insist that it is the sabbath, and you would rather observe the sabbath come what may, even if it means your son will die?

These examples and many more show us the hypocrisy and absurdness of the synagogue official and the Pharisees in today’s Gospel, when it comes to observing the sabbath. Common sense would tell us that we should take action and perform works of mercy and do good things on the sabbath, since lives are in mortal danger as can be seen in the examples above. And yet, the synagogue official and the Pharisees could be still covered with confusion when such emergencies happen. What does this show us? It shows that the synagogue official and the Pharisees have become so distorted and extreme in their thinking, that it is illegal or sinful to be merciful, loving and compassionate even on the sabbath.

If we look at ourselves, have some of us become like the synagogue official and Pharisees? Are we washing our hands of our responsibilities as Christians, when there is an emergency or great need for help on the Lord’s Day? May we come to realise the real and true meaning of the sabbath, and in all we say and do, give glory to God.

Friday of Week 29 Year 1

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It seems that many of us are becoming more reluctant to deal with issues which we may have with certain other persons. Sometimes we just ignore the person or walk away, not wanting to have anything to do with the person or addressing the issue. Sometimes we go straight to the person’s boss, leader and superior, even though the issue may not be that great initially, because we lack the patience or courage to deal with the person directly. Why do we do these things? It is precisely because we have allowed our pride and ego to take control, so much so that we are only concerned about ourselves, and not interested in practicing love, mercy and compassion towards ourselves and towards others.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.”

Have some of us become so self-righteous or conceited that we think we are faultless and right, demanding that others admit their faults? Or have we come to a point that we are not bothered about others anymore, causing ill-feelings, anger or even hatred to simmer and boil over? As Christians, we pray that God would forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Are we practising what we pray, or are we saying it blindly, without meaning, just to put on a show?

Thursday of Week 29 Year 1

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Some of us may have heard of the term “filial piety.” Filial piety basically means to be good to one’s parents; to take care of one’s parents; to engage in good conduct not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one’s parents and ancestors; to perform the duties of one’s job well so as to obtain the material means to support parents. When we observe filial piety, we would try to keep the peace, especially in our family and with our parents, siblings and other loved ones. We would try not to get into major arguments as far as possible, and sometimes we learn to give and take so as to avoid ill feelings, as we would not want our family to break up and drift apart. But sometimes, we are put into a difficult situation. If your parents, siblings or other family members demand that you to do something which would keep the family united and at peace, but would cause you to break God’s commandment and commit sin, what would you choose? Would you listen to your family, or listen to God?

This is why Jesus in today’s Gospel tells us: “Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” It may seem good to try and maintain family unity and happiness, but by doing so, we could be doing something which would cause us to commit sin. It is indeed a difficult choice, but it may be one we may need to make. May we choose what to do wisely, because what we choose would lead to certain consequences.

Wednesday of Week 29 Year 1

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I believe most people would not want to be associated with evil. However, our negligence and failure to take action may lead us towards sin and evil. For example, we neglect to be loving and charitable towards others, we think only about ourselves, we allow pride and our ego to get the better of us, we steal or kill either directly or indirectly because we desire something which we want but cannot easily have, or we are unable or refuse to forgive others. When we do these things and more, we may be dragging ourselves on a path towards evil.

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds and cautions us: “You must not let sin reign in your mortal bodies or command your obedience to bodily passions, you must not let any part of your body turn into an unholy weapon fighting on the side of sin; you should, instead, offer yourselves to God, and consider yourselves dead men brought back to life; you should make every part of your body into a weapon fighting on the side of God; and then sin will no longer dominate your life, since you are living by grace and not by law.”

It seems challenging and difficult, humanly speaking, to overcome evil, because the ways of the world tempts us with so many attractions. But this is not an excuse for us to give up or despair, since we are helped by God’s grace, and when we go for confession regularly, we are actually making effort to keep our soul clean. May we make every effort to change our ways, our attitudes and our behaviour, and fight on the side of God, for our eternal future.

Tuesday of Week 29 Year 1

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Some of us are used to putting off to tomorrow what could be done today. We can come up with many excuses as to why we are not getting the task done. For example, we say that there is still plenty of time, or that the task seems not that important, or the task needs extra time to prepare, even though in reality it is not that difficult to do, or we feel lazy or unmotivated at the moment. Sometimes we procrastinate for so long, that when the deadline for the task is approaching, then we begin to panic and work feverishly on it to get it done, or if the task does not seem so urgent, we may just forget about it altogether. But what we thought to be not so urgent today, may turn out to be critical tomorrow. For example, we think that servicing the car is not so urgent, even though the time to service has come, because we mistakingly believe that the car can still run for some time before it really needs servicing. But are we going to wait until the car breaks down and is in bad shape, then only we become frantic and get it serviced? By then, we may end up paying more for repairs, compared to if we had serviced regularly and according to schedule.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us of the need to be prepared: “See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.” Just as we should not procrastinate in getting a task done, even though it may not seem so urgent at first, we should also not procrastinate in building our spiritual life. May we not find ourselves caught off-guard when the time suddenly comes for us to meet the Lord.

Monday of Week 29 Year 1

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What is avarice? Avarice means extreme greed for wealth or material gain. It makes the getting and keeping of money, possessions, and the like, a purpose in itself to live for, instead of seeing that these things are valuable only as instruments for the conduct of a rational and harmonious life. When a person is infested by avarice, the person treats as if wealth or material gain are all that matters, and relationship, including family and even God, become secondary or even insignificant. Sometimes a person who is filled with avarice begins to treat such wealth or material gain as god.

In today’s Gospel,  Jesus cautions us: “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.”When we allow avarice to fester in our lives, we are distancing ourselves from God, thinking that we are self-sufficient and self-reliant. But what we fail to realise is that all that we have and own are merely temporary things which we cannot bring with us when we die. May we avoid allowing ourselves to end up in eternal ruin, and make every effort to be “rich in the sight of God.”

Friday of Week 28 Year 1

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A leaven is a substance used in dough and batter that causes it to rise, making the end product, be it bread, cake or some other baked item, soft and delicious to eat. While leaven is usually used for a good purpose, there is a different kind of leaven which we need to be cautious about. What leaven is that? The leaven of hypocrisy of the Pharisees, which Jesus warns us in today’s Gospel not to imitate because they give us false impressions and bad examples. For example, the Pharisees like to give alms in public. They do this only to please the crowd, not God. Now, if one follows their example, one also becomes like them because their corrupting influence, their ‘leavening effect’, corrupts and influences us to give alms for our personal glory, gratification and to boost our pride and ego, instead of giving alms for the glory of God.

Behind much hypocrisy and lying is fear. Often we are afraid of how others will react if they discover the truth about us. That is why we must not be afraid to allow “Everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear.” When our inner life and hidden actions are exposed to the light of God, the light of truth, we can be set free. We can do this especially when we go for the sacrament of reconciliation, where all that we are ashamed of, all that is hidden, could be revealed and forgiven. When we do so, we have no reason to fear, because God is there to help us and guide us. Are we willing to come out of our shadows, our hypocritical ways, and let the light of God shine through us and heal us?

Thursday of Week 28 Year 1

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When we go to the dentist, one of the things that some of us dread is when the dentist uses a drill as part of a procedure to repair a tooth. The drilling can lead to a sense of being uncomfortable, or even pain, especially when the drill touches a nerve. Sometimes the dentist would give us an injection to help numb the pain, but the pain can still be felt. When we feel the pain, what do we do? Do we brave through it, or do we twist and turn violently and make a ruckus? In the same way, we sometimes come across persons who confront us and “drills” us with the truth. When we are faced with the truth, do we keep trying to live in denial or try to sweep it under the carpet, or do we face up to it, seek forgiveness, reconcile and move on.

In today’s Gospel: “When he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.” The scribes and the Pharisees knew that the truth about them had been exposed, but they were stubborn, proud, egoistic and arrogant, refusing to admit their fault. Instead, they tried to put Jesus down to hide the truth. But what the scribes and the Pharisees failed to realise is that the truth would eventually prevail, no matter how hard they tried to hide it.

Ultimately, we need to decide. Are we going to be like the scribes and the Pharisees, refusing to face up to the truth? Or are we willing to be humble and docile, and face up to the truth? Just like a drill can help make our tooth better, may we let God drill us, so that we would change and become better persons for His glory.