Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 22nd

Monday of Week 22 Year 1

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It’s very hard to lose someone that we love very much. Death is hard to understand or to accept. But we know that, sooner or later, we will need to face the reality of death. No one lives forever, as our bodies are not made to last, even the things we own do not last for long. Some people view death as the end, that they cease to exist. Others fear death because of the unknown. But how should a Christian respond to death? What sort of attitude should a Christian have towards death?

In today’s reading, St. Paul tells us: “We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him.” The important thing we need to note here is we need to have died in Jesus, by letting ourselves go through a conversion process where we let go of our old selves and put on a new self with Jesus as our help and guide. If we have been faithful and consistent in building a good relationship with Jesus, we have no reason to worry or fear, for God will bring us to Him. The question is: have we been doing our part to remain in the Lord?

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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From a young age, most of us would have been introduced to rules and regulations at home. We would have been taught what is acceptable, what is not, and what would be the consequence if we broke a rule. Even in school and later in society, we have rules and regulations. As a civilised society, we know that we need rules and regulations, so that there would be some order. Otherwise, people would do as they please and society would disintegrate into chaos. As usual, we would always come across those who complain about certain rules and regulations, especially those that do not benefit them by giving them a free reign to do what they like, but rules and regulations are there not just for the benefit of a few, but meant for all. Take for instance vehicle parking. If there are no rules, people would park indiscriminately, and cause obstruction, inconvenience to others, and even pose a danger to other people. That is why, whether we like it or not, we need rules to function as a society.

In today’s readings, we come across the law, which is God’s commandments. God’s commandments are there to help us become better persons as well as to become mature and responsible Christians. The first reading tells us about God’s commandments, where we are to: “keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding.” Likewise, St. James in the second reading describes the law as “all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given to us from above” and that we are to “accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. But you must do what the word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.” St. James in the second reading also reminds us that God’s law is there to help us become the “first fruits of all that he had created.” Without God’s law to guide us, we would be guided by our own pride, prejudice, ego and selfishness. Thus, God’s laws help us become free from our own selfish motives and intentions.

However, we must be cautious not to become extremists in following God’s laws. The scribes and the Pharisees were examples of following God’s laws to the extreme, by following God’s laws without understanding their purpose, by being very judgmental of others, and by seeing themselves as the guardians of the Law and the watchdogs of morality. This led Jesus in today’s Gospel to reprimand them by exclaiming: “This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me.” This is because a person could appear to be following God’s law by meticulously observing external practices like what the scribes and Pharisees did, but deep inside the heart there could be malice and evil intentions, as Jesus in today’s Gospel reminds us: “nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean.” That is why it is not enough to just follow the laws, or follow them blindly, or even follow them only because we fear punishment. Instead, we should follow God’s law out of love and not out of fear, as God’s law is the law of love.

Thus, let us have a conversion of heart and follow God’s law with love and compassion. Just as God has shown much love and compassion towards us, we too should do the same for others. Let us ask God to help rid ourselves of any evil intentions, so that we would be free and happy to listen to His words, act upon them, and by our words and actions give Him all the glorify.

Friday of Week 22 Year 2

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Are you a trustworthy person? Can you keep secrets? Are you dependable? Do people have confidence in you? These are some of the many questions you may have heard from time to time, especially when an issue or matter of grave importance needs to be revealed. Sometimes, we may be reminded to keep certain things to ourselves, or that the matter should be “kept within the walls,” or we may be required to “keep it under wraps.”

As Christians, St Paul reminds us in the reading: “People must think of us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his trust.” There are times when the trust placed upon us could be challenged by others. Would we be able to maintain trust, even to the point of persecution and the possibility of death? Also, the trust placed upon us means we should be humble and careful not to judge. St. Paul in the reading also reminds us: “There must be no passing of premature judgement. Leave that until the Lord comes; he will light up all that is hidden in the dark and reveal the secret intentions of men’s hearts.” As stewards, our duty is to love and serve faithfully and with confidence, just as God loves all of us. Let us not divert from the trust placed upon us, and continue to walk faithfully and humbly in God’s loving presence.

Thursday of Week 22 Year 2

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Some of us make lots of effort to pursue academic qualifications here on earth. Perhaps we may start with a diploma or a certificate in some area of interest, then we may pursue a degree or an honours degree. Those of us who have the opportunity and the ability may go even higher and pursue a masters degree or even a doctorate in some area of specialisation. For some of us, the present qualifications we have may not be enough or we feel we can achieve more. However, are all these qualifications on earth all that matters? Can we know everything there is to be known about a particular area of specialisation? Certainly not. There are still so many things which are not known. Our minds are able to retain up till a certain amount, and then we may begin to forget other things. Can any of us honestly claim to be able to know and retain such knowledge indefinitely?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “Make no mistake about it: if any one of you thinks of himself as wise, in the ordinary sense of the word, then he must learn to be a fool before he really can be wise. Why? Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As scripture says: The Lord knows wise men’s thoughts: he knows how useless they are; or again: God is not convinced by the arguments of the wise. So there is nothing to boast about in anything human…” All the knowledge in this world only gives us a glimpse of the majesty and omnipotence of God. When we think we know much, some of us may begin to feel proud, thinking that we can go our own way without God. But as St. Paul says, the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. Whatever we learn and know is only temporary, and one day we may either forget, or something else may render what we know obsolete or useless. Instead, let us learn what God expects of us, since the knowledge we glean from Him will help us grow closer to Him. Are we willing and humble enough to learn from Him, and let Him be our guide?

Wednesday of Week 22 Year 2

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In our churches and in our communities, we sometimes see people taking sides or factions. In some instances, a church activity, group or committee may have two or more leaders who are capable or charismatic. When this happens, there are those who may lend their support to their favourite leader, or flock to him or her because of a number of reasons. Sometimes, people do so because they think they can curry favour with the leader and gain some sort of favour or benefit from him or her. Sometimes, people are attracted to the leader’s enthusiasm, personality and so called aura of authority. But is this what Christ expects of us as his disciples? Are we not supposed to be one united body of Christ, sons and daughters of God?

In today’s reading, St. Paul admonishes us: “After all, what is Apollos and what is Paul? They are servants who brought the faith to you. Even the different ways in which they brought it were assigned to them by the Lord. I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God made things grow. Neither the planter nor the waterer matters: only God, who makes things grow. It is all one who does the planting and who does the watering, and each will duly be paid according to his share in the work. We are fellow workers with God; you are God’s farm, God’s building.” Each of us have our proper tasks and we should perform our duties as best we can, but at the end of the day, we are all fellow workers with God. We should not consider ourselves superior or greater than another, just because we have certain abilities or talents which others may not have. What matters, as St. Paul rightly reminds us, is God. Are we still insisting in being looked upon as some great or capable leader? Or have we learnt to humble ourselves to serve, not to be served?

Tuesday of Week 22 Year 2

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Are some of us worldly in our ways? Are some of us spiritual in our ways? Or are there some among us who are leaning more towards worldly ways or spiritual ways? Life is a journey where we discover more and more about ourselves, and sometimes along the way especially while we are young, we may become more attracted to the ways of the world. As we grow older, some of us may begin to realise that the ways of the world is not as satisfying or fulfilling as we may have thought. There are people too who, even though they are getting older, are still clinging on to the ways of the world, thinking that they still have much more to discover and enjoy. What about you? Where are you in the story of your life?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us that “An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men.” We choose and decide which path to take, whether it be spiritual or unspiritual. Some of us may have realised the path we are heading is not the destination we want, and we switch direction. Some may choose to stick to our guns and continue a particular path. Ultimately, let us be mindful of the path we make, for our eternal future is at stake.

Monday of Week 22 Year 2

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We sometimes come across the statement “the truth hurts.” When we hear something about ourselves which sounds difficult or unpleasant, we find it painful to accept. The same goes for other people we know. When we discover something about another person which is unexpected, we may also find it difficult to accept. Many relationships have been strained or broken when one party discovered something significant about another party. Our opinion, perspective, feelings or outlook about ourselves or another person may change when we come to know the real truth.

In today’s Gospel (Luke 4:16-30), we read that “everyone in the synagogue was enraged” at what Jesus had said. Jesus had admonished them for their lack of faith in Him, and to a wider extent, their lack of faith in God. We read that Jesus gave examples of how foreigners or gentiles (such as the widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town, and the Syrian, Naaman) were helped by God instead of the Israelites receiving help, simply because the Israelites as a people had been very stubborn, wanting to do things on their own way and refusing to put their trust and dependence in God. When Jesus said such things, the people in the synagogue could not accept the truth about themselves. They refused to listen to Jesus and change their ways. Instead, we read how the people in the synagogue tried to get rid of Jesus by throwing him down the cliff.

How would you respond when you come to know the truth? Would you learn to accept hard facts about yourself or another person? Would you be willing to grow in faith in God and learn to depend on Him more. We can choose to progress in our spiritual life by accepting the truth and moving on, or we could choose to become stagnant in our faith by remaining stubborn and attached to our comfort zone, refusing to acknowledge the truth.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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Some of us are fortunate to be living a life without much problems, worries, difficulties, broken relationships, physical or emotional pain, or some other form of suffering. When we are not facing such situations, some of us may begin to get quite comfortable in our present status, and may be reluctant to come out of our comfort zone, get involved, and be charitable towards others less fortunate than us. Some of us may just donate a certain sum, thinking that giving money would help and we have done our part. The question is: are we behaving like Christians in such situations, or are we just doing things just to get a person off our backs or to avoid getting too involved in a situation?

Being a Christian means we are being disciples of Christ. That means we should be constantly on a mission to bring the Good News to others, with words and actions. It also means we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. The cross reminds us of the standards of God: such as truth, love, compassion, forgiveness, humility, and self-sacrifice. Whereas we should not be influenced by the standards of the world: such as lies, selfishness, unforgiveness, violence, pride, prejudices and self-centeredness.

Throughout our lives on earth, we are constantly challenged to choose one of two paths. The first path is the easy path, where we are showered with wealth, riches, popularity and power. This path may appear to be wonderful, and some may become complacent and quite comfortable in staying on this path. But such a path could lead us away from God. What some of us think as a wise choice in following this path may one day discover too late that it is a foolish choice. The other path is winding, difficult, challenging, painful and we may face much persecution if we follow this path. But this is the path of the cross, the path that Christ beckons us, as it would lead us to God. Which path do we really want? Which path are we sincerely prepared to follow?

St. Paul in the second reading reminds us: “Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.” Are we prepared to forgo temporary comfort and riches on earth and take up our cross, so that we could enjoy eternal comfort and riches with God?