Faithfulness and Love

Author Archives: Andrew Kooi

Wednesday of Week 14 Year 1

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Every once in a while, I come across people who say that they have volunteered themselves to go to some seemingly remote country or place to preach the Good News. While it is commendable for people to offer their services and even their lives in such an endeavour, I sometimes wonder: what about the very people in our community, our own backyard, our own housing area, who may have not heard about the Good News? Have such aspiring missionaries made the effort to reach out to them? Or have some of these aspiring missionaries given up on their own people?

In today’s Gospel, we are told: “These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’ What Jesus is telling us is that basically, charity begins at home. While it may seem commendable to make big plans in  trying to preach the Good News to others, what about reaching out to our own families and friends first? Are some of us preaching the Good News selectively, thinking only of achieving a great success rate? Or are we preaching the Good News for the glory of God, regardless whether we are successful or not?

Tuesday of Week 14 Year 1

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Why are some of us unhappy? Some of us are unhappy because we feel that we have not achieved much in life. Some of us are unhappy because we are perfectionists and we constantly want to do even better than before. But for some of us, we are unhappy because we are jealous of others. We want to have what others have, or we want to be the centre of attention. When this happens, we begin to find ways and means to put others down, or to attract attention from others to whet our appetite for power and recognition, as our jealousy consumes us and blinds us to what is true and just.

In today’s Gospel, we read: “A man was brought to Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.'” The people loved Jesus for what He said, the healing He did and the casting out of devils he did. The Pharisees were constantly jealous with Jesus’ increasing popularity and the words He said hit them hard and pricked their conscience, but they refused to change and risk losing their status and position. The Pharisees had become so jealous, that they even the good that Jesus was doing was, to them, the work of the devil. How absurd! But that is what jealousy does, and the Pharisees became blind to what is true and just.

What about us? Have we allowed jealousy to control our lives? Are we not happy, content and satisfied with the many gifts and talents God has given us? Why do we need to compare ourselves with others and become jealous of others because of what we do not have? God has made us special, unique amd gifted in different ways, and let us celebrate our uniqueness and give God the glory.

Monday of Week 14 Year 1

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Supposing your child or an elderly parent or relative has just died, and suddenly someone comes and tells you that the deceased is not dead, but merely sleeping, how would you feel and how would you respond? Quite likely you would think that the person saying such things is being mean or absurd, and you may even ask the person to leave before you take stronger measures or actions. Supposing the person saying such things was brought to the house by a sibling or someone close to you, and that sibling or someone has great faith in the person’s ability to restore the deceased to life, would you trust your sibling’s judgement? Or would you still refuse to believe and get angry or upset?

In today’s Gospel, the official had great faith and trust in Jesus. The crowd, and possibly other members of the family did not. It was because of the official’s great faith in Jesus that his daughter was brought back to life. Sometimes in our lives, we have become so used to a particular way of thinking, or we think we have seen it all, that we may fail to recognise Jesus in our midst, coming to heal us or bring us back to life. May we learn to discern and discover Jesus’ presence, and put our faith and trust in Him, and let Him do what is best for us for His glory.

Friday of Week 13 Year 1

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We sometimes do not realise the gravity or significance of certain words used. Sometimes, even the words used have lost its proper meaning, because some of us may have overused or misused such words. For example, when we use the word “love,” we may not necessarily mean what we say. Instead, what we may actually mean is we “like” or we”enjoy” but since we are so used to saying the word “love,” the meaning may have become lost in translation.

In today’s reading, we hear of Abraham making his steward swear an oath to choose a wife for his son Isaac according to his specific instructions. Then we read of something strange or peculiar: Abraham made the steward put his hand under his thigh to make the oath. Why did Abraham make the servant do so? In ancient times, a person who declares something usually makes an oath with the declaration. The declaration is also known as a testimony. The word “testimony” or to “testify” comes from the Latin word “testis,” which refers to the glans from which the seeds of life come from, and from which each man’s legacy or descendants is spread. So the steward had to reach down and grasp Abraham’s manhood, and then swear an oath upon the seed of Abraham’s tribe, that he would make every effort to adhere to the promise he was to make. This means that a testimony is so grave, so serious and so significant that it involves even the future generation of the one making the testimony.

Seeing the consequences of what a testimony means, are we careful and prudent with any testimonies we make? May we be fully aware of the consequences of making testimonies, and be willing to stake it all when we testify to the Good News, and give glory to God.

Thursday of Week 13 Year 1

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If God were to ask you to give up something to Him, would you do it? Some of us may say that we would be willing to give up our lives for Him, or give up all that we hav to follow Him. But how many of us are really sincere with our words? How many of us would be willing to give up that which we treasure most?

In today’s reading, God tested Abraham by asking him to give up his son as a burnt offering. It would have been agonising and difficult for Abraham to give up Isaac, since it was so difficult for Abraham to have Isaac in the first place. But did Abraham show any reluctance or hesitation? No. Abraham did what God asked of him, and because Abraham was willing to give up his most precious son, Isaac, not only did God spare Isaac’s life, God also said to Abraham: “I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.”

Would we be willing to give up something to God, just as Abraham did? Sometimes, God may be asking us to give up something as He has something even better for us. May we learn to be detached and be docile, and let God be our providence and guide.

Wednesday of Week 13 Year 1

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Casting out devils and evil spirits is not a task which anyone can do, since it requires extensive preparations, including much prayer and fasting. If we are not properly disposed, prepared and ready, it is best we refrain from attempting such things, since we ourselves could be possessed, or cause more complications to others and even to ourselves, or some could be quite badly injured, or even face the possibility of death.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus drove away devils from two demoniacs with little resistance. It is interesting to note that the devils actually pleaded with Jesus to be cast out into a herd of pigs instead of Jesus casting them out and sending them to a fate far worse. Jesus was merciful enough to grant them their request. Jesus is God and He can easily drive devils away. But for the rest of us, we should not straight away jump into conclusions that a person is possessed, since there are certain procedures to be followed and one should consult the bishop of the diocese to determine the next course of action. Ultimately, let us check our intentions. Are we casting out evil spirits to show how great we are, for our personal gratification, or to feed our ego? Or are we truly, humbly and cautiously doing so for the greater glory of God?

Tuesday of Week 13 Year 1

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Every once in a while, we hear of massive natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, floods, tsunami, raging fires and much more. When such a massive disaster happens, those affected are often urged to make a getaway as quickly as they can. The authorities would even give advice on where persons should run or take cover, so as to minimise casualties or deaths. But sometimes, we get people who don’t want to follow instructions or listen. For example, a massive tsunami happens and people have only moments to run and head for higher ground. Instead of doing so, some people remain where they are and even take a video of the event, only to their peril.

In today’s reading, the angels urged Lot: “Come, take your wife and these two daughters of yours, or you will be overwhelmed in the punishment of the town… Run for your life. Neither look behind you nor stop anywhere on the plain. Make for the hills if you would not be overwhelmed.” However, “the wife of Lot looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt.” Why did she do so? The reading does not tell us specifically. Perhaps Lot’s wife had become too attached to her old life, and she looked back in regret for what she was losing. Perhaps she was curious and wanted to see whether everything would be totally destroyed. But whatever the reason may be, she had disobeyed God and suffered the consequences.

What about us? Just as the local authorities may have issued a warning and given instructions to help us get to safety, God is constantly giving us opportunities to follow His instructions, so that our souls would be safe. One instruction that we are being constantly reminded is to remain in good terms and good relationship with God, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But how many of us are taking heed of such instructions? May we not procrastinate or look back, only to find ourselves in a difficult situation, and risk jeopardising our eternal future.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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When we come to church, we come not as strangers or foreigners, but we come because we are supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ. But the question is: are we really brothers and sisters in Christ? Look around you… do you sit with strangers, or quite likely, do you sit only with people you know, or are familiar with? Do you know the persons on your right and left? Perhaps if they are your family members, friends or relatives, you would know them. But what about the persons in the front pews, or the persons at the back pews, or even the persons a few pews away? Do you know all of them? Or do you know most of them? Or do you know some of them? Or perhaps you don’t know them at all? We sometimes hear people complaining that the church seems cold and unwelcoming, since they feel as if they come and leave as strangers. The question is: Who do you think should do the welcoming? Do we blame the priest alone? Or should we blame the hospitality ministers?

So who should do the welcoming? The answer should be obvious: It should be each and every one of us. If each and every one of us can show hospitality to just one other person, we will become living witnesses of love and hospitality. What is hospitality? Hospitality means paying attention to another person and making the person feel at home. We want others to pay attention to us, and we get angry, upset and hurt when we are ignored, when others don’t listen to us or treat us as if we do not exist. But do we pay attention to others just as we expect others to pay attention to us?

Hospitality should transform us from being self-centered to being other-centred. St. Paul tells us in the second reading: “When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.” This living a new life means we are not merely individuals but members of the community, brothers and sisters in Christ. Hospitality also means that we need to break down barriers created by prejudice and suspicion. Life in Christ means that every person is a member of my family and my friend. Jesus reminds us: “Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me.” What is Jesus telling us here? What he is saying is that we are all to live as one family, as brothers and sisters in Christ, as members of the community called to love, compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Today, let us welcome each other with open hands and open hearts. When we welcome each other, we are also welcoming Jesus, as Jesus in the Gospel tells us: “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me.” The Shunammite woman in today’s first reading had no son and her husband is old, and because she was welcoming to Elisha, God gave her a son. In the Gospel, Jesus assures us: “Anyone who welcomes a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man will have a holy man’s reward. If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.” May we learn to be truly and sincerely hospitable to all, so that all may know that we are Christians by our love, for the greater glory of God.

Friday of Week 12 Year 1

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What would you do if you are already an 80 years old lady and a priest were to say to you that you would soon have a child? Quite likely you might respond: “Come on father… Don’t be silly. I am too old to conceive.” Some of you would laugh and think that the priest is joking. Some of you may even think that the priest has lost his marbles (in other words, gone crazy), and some of you might even avoid speaking to the priest for a while, hoping that he would not say such things again.

But the irony of ironies is: such things can happen. In today’s reading, such a thing did happen. Abram was told that his wife Sarah would conceive and bear him a son. Abram thought that God was joking as he was already 99 years old and his wife Sarah was also quite elderly. But as it turns out, God was not joking at all. Abram did have a son, and the son became known as Isaac, whom God chose and established a Covenant with.

Now, before any of you begin hitting the panic button and worry that God might pull a prank on you and make you conceive, the main point that we can gather from today’s reading is not so much about having babies, but having trust and confidence in God, no matter how challenging or unlikely the odds may be. If God could enable a person so old as Sarah to conceive, just imagine what wonders God could do for us, if we depend on Him and let Him be our help and guide. Let us not doubt any longer, for when it comes to God’s help and providence, it is certainly not a laughing matter.

Wednesday of Week 12 Year 1

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At some point of our lives, some of us may have encountered doubt. Some of us doubt about where we are heading in life, some doubt about our abilities, and some of us even begin to doubt about whether God cares. In our doubt, some of us may have the tendency to look inwards at ourselves, and we begin to ask questions centered on ourselves. The danger of muddling in such doubt is that, for some of us, we may remain stuck in our inward selves, constantly wondering and pondering, and we seem to be not getting any answers or solutions to such doubt.

In today’s reading, Abram seemed to be having such doubt and began looking inward. The reading tells us that Abram wondered and questioned: “What do you intend to give me? I am childless and You have given me no descendants!” But God did not let Abram remain stuck in a rut. God took Abram “outside” to look up at heaven and count the stars, to help Abram come out of his introspective and narrow-looking attitude, so that Abram could see further and believe deeper.

In a way, God is inviting and leading us too to come out of our inward looking, and begin looking outside at the heavens and count the stars. Let us not doubt any longer, but come to realise that we are in God’s hands, and that we must remain in faith, trust and confidence in His care and providence.