Monthly Archives: February 2019

I believe most of us would have never experienced being in prison or in captivity before. To be in captivity, to lose freedom, and to be kept under surveillance all the time is certainly very stressful; and those of us who have visited the prisons before and spoken to the prisoners could attest to such conditions. Some may wait for the day to come when they could be released, and at the mean time passively wait for such a day. Others would be try to find a way to escape, and if they do and get captured, the consequences could be severe or drastic. There are also some who would turn captivity into an opportunity to see the best and be the best in such a situation.

In today’s reading, In today’s reading, St. Paul did not lament about being in chains or in captivity, despite his innocence, but he took the opportunity to proclaim the Kingdom of God despite wearing those chains. St. Paul stayed focused on Jesus, doing His will, and depending on His providence instead of wallowing in his predicament or unfortunate situation. In other words, St. Paul turned captivity into an opportunity to continue the task of preaching the Good News, come what may.

What about us? If we are in captivity, would we make the best of the situation and continue our efforts to preach the Good News? Or would we become passive, or even lose hope, thinking that we cannot do anything about our situation? Let us not despair or give up, but continue preaching the Good News no matter what circumstances we are in, and in doing so give glory to God.

Some people think that only they or certain persons who are in their circle of friends or close group are authorised or capable of doing a task. Such persons would find ways and means to ensure that no one else would have any chance to get involved in such tasks, even though other persons may be quite capable or even better than such persons. It is interesting and ironic that we sometimes hear of such persons complaining that it seems so difficult to find new blood or new persons willing to help, when in the very first place, such persons are the ones who are unwilling to let go or share the task. As Christians, what is our attitude when it comes to preaching the Good News? Are we preventing others from doing so, thinking that only we or persons we choose are capable, or are we encouraging others, who may be just as capable or even better than us?

In today’s reading, we are told that: “When Apollos thought of crossing over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote asking the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived there he was able by God’s grace to help the believers considerably by the energetic way he refuted the Jews in public and demonstrated from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” Instead of preventing Appolos from doing his part in preaching the Good News, the other disciples encouraged him and even sent messages to Achaia asking that Appolos be welcomed. This shows that the disciples were willing to share the task of preaching the Good News with others, instead of clinging on to such a task.

What about us? Are we willing to share the task with others, and encourage them and even giving them our full support, or are we still holding to such tasks and preventing others from helping? Instead of being an obstacle to others in helping in such tasks, let us change our ways and attitudes, and encourage others help, just as the disciples in today’s reading did. After all, we do such tasks not for our own glory, but for the glory of God.

One reality about being in mission is that we cannot choose where we want to go or where we want to serve. Ultimately, we are sent according to where the church wants us to serve, where the church finds an urgent or important need, not where we think is urgent or important. This is necessary, since at the end of the day, we are being sent to preach the Good News, and not for our comfort or convenience. Also, our being in mission means we can be taken out of a certain place at any time, and sent elsewhere. This means we need to be prepared to move on, and not be too attached to certain places or persons.

In today’s reading, Paul and Barnabas “travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross it into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas. One night Paul had a vision: a Macedonian appeared and appealed to him in these words, ‘Come across to Macedonia and help us.’ Once he had seen this vision we lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to bring them the Good News.”

From the reading, we see how Paul and Barnabas were told where they were to go, not where they would like to go. Also, the reading shows us how Paul and Barnabas was sent, uprooted, and then sent elsewhere, and they did it without losing any time, instead of grumbling or dragging their feet. This shows us that, when it comes to mission, we should be ready and prepared to do God’s will. May we go forth happily and obediently to preach the Good News wherever we are needed, and give glory to God in all our efforts.

Some of us, from time to time, may have shown certain behaviour which can be really childish or even downright stupid. The reality is that we don’t really gain anything from such behaviour, and yet we fail to acknowledge how silly we really are. One such behaviour is jealousy. Jealousy occurs due to thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, concern, and envy over relative lack of possessions, status or something of great personal value.When we allow ourselves to succumb to jealousy, we become blinded in pursuing what one lacks, leading us to childish or silly behaviour, which could even lead us to the point of committing great evil or despicable acts.

In today’s reading, the Jews were so consumed with jealousy, that they began to act childish, silly and stupid, and they began to use blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. From acting childish, silly and stupid, the Jews allowed jealousy to turn into violent behaviour, where they “worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory.” Such uncontrolled jealousy eventually led to more evil and harm committed, where there is nothing to gain and everything to lose.

What about us? Have some of us become like the Jews, so jealous that we have lost our sense of what is right, just, proper and fair? Has our pride and ego become more important than doing the will of God? May we check ourselves and avoid being entrapped or enslaved by the poison of jealousy, and give glory to God in all we say and do.