Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 23rd

Wednesday of Week 23 Year 1

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What does it mean to be a Christian? Being a Christian means our lives should have been totally transformed from our old ways and put on the ways of Christ. It means we are making much effort to love God and neighbour, not just with words, but also through our actions. It means that we are doing our utmost best in living a virtuous life, free from pride, prejudice, ego, malicious intentions, and a willingness to love, be humble, be docile, forgive and reconcile. All these sounds nice and good, but are we really living a Christian life, or are we only Christians in name, but living worldly lives and doing worldly things like everyone else?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand… That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator…”

Some may say that it seems impossible to live a true Christian life, but we must not forget that to God, nothing is impossible. Yes, we will stumble and fall along the way, but we should get up and strive on, making steady progress in becoming more and more like Christ, while depending on His Grace and providence. Let us be reminded: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3).”

Monday of Week 23 Year 1

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Most of us are busy people, but we should take care not to overdo things. Sometimes we do too much at the expense of something else. Perhaps the something else could be our health, and all the effort in doing so much ends up in poor health or hefty medical bills. Perhaps the something else could be our strained relationship with family and friends. Or perhaps the something else could be our deteriorating relationship with God. We ought to remember that the Lord’s day or the Sabbath is for all Catholics to gather for Mass to be nourished by the Lord. Just as God “rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done,” human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord’s Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.

That being said, we come across the scribes and the Pharisees in today’s Gospel who had extreme views about the Sabbath. Any logical and decent human being would have concurred with Jesus by doing good and to save life on the Sabbath, if and when the need arises. But not the scribes and Pharisees, since these folks were so extreme and stubborn that not a single thing could be done during the Sabbath. Jesus was amazed with their attitude, and He still went ahead to cure the man with the withered hand. Naturally, this did not go well with the scribes and the Pharisees, and they began to discuss the best way of dealing with Jesus.

Sometimes we too could be just as guilty like the scribes and the Pharisees. Some of us could be doing unnecessary things on the Sabbath, while others may be doing absolutely nothing, not even good things, like the scribes and the Pharisees. Have some of us forgotten that ultimately, what God wants is “mercy, not sacrifice?”

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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Among the many senses which most of us have which we often take for granted are the ability to hear and the ability to speak. If we are unable to see, we can still get around on our own by using our ears, sense of smell and other senses which would have been further heightened and enhanced as we get older. If we are unable to hear but our other senses are intact, we could still survive by using sign language and other forms of communication, including reading another person’s lips to somewhat understand what the person is saying. If we are unable to speak, we could also depend on other forms of communication to survive. But just imagine if one is born mute and deaf, or become that way due to some illness. Life would certainly be quite difficult to live, since one would be dependent on others for almost everything.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus healed a man who was deaf and mute. This healing could be seen from a different perspective, that is, it can be seen as a symbolic model of the process of evangelisation, or spreading the Good News about Jesus. The apostles heard the Word of God and then went out and spoke about it to everyone. These people heard the apostles preaching and they in turn went and spoke about it to all their friends. Eventually the Good News reached the entire world.

Today, however, we may be in danger of losing the faith that the apostles gave their lives to hand on. Many people are abandoning the faith. The Good News is that God so loved the world that he sent his only son that we might have life, but many of us are not “hearing” it and are not sharing it. Why are we not sharing it? Because many of us may have become so preoccupied in our lives with so many other things, that we would have forgotten how urgent it is for the Good News to be preached. Some of us may have become deaf to the Good News, and some of us may have become mute in sharing it, whereas some of us may have even become both deaf and mute to the Good News.

To heal the deaf and mute man in the Gospel, Jesus took him away from the crowd. Jesus could have just willed that the man be healed, but instead He touched him. He put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. He then spoke a seemingly magic word… ephphatha which means “be open”, and the man was healed. Similarly, Jesus may be calling you to come away and touch each of us as well, so that our ears and tongue would “be open” and enable us to hear clearly and speak clearly once again, so that we too would be healed and be able to confidently and courageously go forth and preach the Good News. Are we willing to be healed by Jesus and go forth to preach the Good News with renewed vigour?

Friday of Week 23 Year 2

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Some people are very good at finding fault with others. Even the slightest mistake could be used as ammunition for such people to belittle or accuse another. Some people find fault because they think they themselves are faultless and blameless, and they think that that gives them the right to teach others to be like them. Some people find fault because they are trying to hide something about themselves, and by finding fault with others, they hope that their own shortcomings would not be noticed. Have you been finding fault with others in one way or another?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus admonishes us: “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.” When it seems so easy for us to find fault with others, are we being proud, conceited, arrogant or aloof towards others? Let us be reminded that we are not perfect and look honestly at ourselves, since there may be many areas of improvement which we could discover. Are we willing to change our attitude and behaviour, while admitting and addressing our failures and shortcomings?

Thursday of Week 23 Year 2

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Sometimes people come up to me and ask: “Is it ok to eat food offered to ancestors?” Some, especially if they come from a Taoist background may also ask: “What about food offered to a deity or an idol? Is it ok to eat such food?” St Paul in today’s reading reminds us: “we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth – where there certainly seem to be ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ in plenty – still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.” What this basically means is for us Christians, we believe that there is no other gods but one God the Father and one Lord Jesus Christ.

So, since Paul states that idols do not really exist in the world and there is one God, is it then ok to eat food offered to these idols? Here again Paul gives the answer: “Some people, however, do not have this knowledge. There are some who have been so long used to idols that they eat this food as though it really had been sacrificed to the idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by it. In this way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother’s downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother’s downfall.” We know that the food being offered to an idol is not food being offered to a god, since we believe that there is no other god but one God. However, there are some who do not grasp this understanding or who are weak in their faith and they may be present with us. If we eat such food, we may be causing such persons who are weak in their faith to possibly become weaker or lose their faith altogether. So, given the circumstances, we should be mindful of who is with us when such food is served. Do we want to be the cause of a brother’s downfall?

Wednesday of Week 23 Year 2

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At some point in our life, we may have heard of the words: “don’t go looking for trouble.” In Malay, the approximate translation is “jangan cari pasal.” What these words basically mean is we should not be reckless or trying to be a bravado. Instead, whatever we do and whatever state of life we may be in or we may be thinking of getting into, we should consider the consequences and weigh the costs. Some questions which may come to mind are: “Is this worthwhile?” “Do I want to be in this situation for the long term?” “Is this what I really want in life?”

In today’s reading, St. Paul advises us: “About remaining celibate, I have no directions from the Lord but give my own opinion as one who, by the Lord’s mercy, has stayed faithful. Well then, I believe that in these present times of stress this is right: that it is good for a man to stay as he is. If you are tied to a wife, do not look for freedom; if you are free of a wife, then do not look for one. But if you marry, it is no sin, and it is not a sin for a young girl to get married. They will have their troubles, though, in their married life, and I should like to spare you that.” What Paul is trying to tell us is basically this: be faithful, contend, responsible, dedicated, and committed to the way of life you are presently in or chosen and soon to be in. Don’t go “looking for trouble” by trying to run away or shirk from your duties and responsibilities in whatever way of life you have chosen. In today’s world where some people prefer to live in a “touch and go” or “use and throw” mentality, we should be witnesses by showing others that it is possible to stay in a particular state of life, whatever that may be.

Tuesday of Week 23 Year 2

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As Christians, we sometimes come into conflict with a fellow brother or sister. Sometimes the conflict could be a small matter. Other times, it could be a serious matter. But whatever the matter may be, we should follow Jesus’ advice as mentioned in last Sunday’s Gospel, that our dealing with someone who has done something wrong should be done gradually. At first, alone with him or her, then get two or three witnesses, then get the community involved. This means that, as Christians, we should settle issues among ourselves, within our community.

However, some of us are still stubborn and insisting that we bring such matters, no matter how trivial it may be, to court, such as the local magistrate, or even high court. This is why St. Paul in today’s reading admonishes us: “How dare one of your members take up a complaint against another in the law courts of the unjust instead of before the saints? As you know, it is the saints who are to ‘judge the world’; and if the world is to be judged by you, how can you be unfit to judge trifling cases? Since we are also to judge angels, it follows that we can judge matters of everyday life; but when you have had cases of that kind, the people you appointed to try them were not even respected in the Church. You should be ashamed: is there really not one reliable man among you to settle differences between brothers and so one brother brings a court case against another in front of unbelievers?”

The church has got a tribunal which has priests and lay people as judges and lawyers. People sometimes think that the tribunal is only for marriage cases, but it is much more than that. Cases between Catholics concerning an issue could also be heard. Why do we stubbornly and vehemently insist in getting unbelievers to judge our cases, as St. Paul questions us, when we have a tribunal which could do the same in a Christian way?

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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Sometimes we come to a situation where we are upset or angry with another person because a wrong has been committed. When we are faced with such a situation, what do we do? Some of us may avoid talking to the person entirely and do not want to have anything to do with the person. Some of us may avoid talking to the person, but choose to talk about the person behind his or her back (which is basically gossiping). Some of us may choose to confront the person, but we may do so in a fierce or menacing way. How many of us are able to confront another with love, patience and compassion?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us an example of how we should love others and how we should deal with them should a wrong have been committed. Jesus tells us: “If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.” Notice that our dealing with someone who has done something wrong should be done gradually. At first, alone with him or her, then get one or two witnesses, then get the community involved. We should never try to jump the gun and get others involved without dealing personally with the person first. After all, our objective is to deal with the wrong done and not to shame, belittle or embarrass the other person in the presence of other people.

St. Paul tells us in the second reading: “Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.” Love is not a feeling but a decision. We choose to have love, patience and compassion for others, and just as God loves us all, we too should love all. However, Love does not mean we give in to other people’s demands, but to be firm, patient and tough but kind. Let us be genuine in our love towards others, being firm and tough where necessary, and gentle at heart, just as God loves and guides us as His children.