Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 24th

Friday of Week 24 Year 1

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What is our purpose as Christians? Are we Christians because we want to serve God and serve others? Or have some of us become more and more interested only in serving ourselves? When we look at the church we are attending, is the church only interested in making money and the spiritual growth of the faithful is merely for show, limited or non-existent? Sometimes we could be guilty of putting a price on everything in the name of religion. For example, we have seen how some people have been duped into paying large sums of money to attend a healing rally organised by a so-called famous pastor who claims to be able to heal anyone, when Jesus did not enforce any charges for healing others. People gave out of the generosity of their hearts and not because they were being forced or cajoled to. Does the church we go to have this kind of attitude, where it is only all about money? Are we ourselves having such an attitude also? It is interesting to note that some people seem to think that they can pay their way to heaven, sort of like “cheap grace” where the more they contribute, the better the chances for them to reach heaven. Has our church and even some of us begun to have such thoughts?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us sternly: “This is what you are to teach the brothers to believe and persuade them to do. Anyone who teaches anything different, and does not keep to the sound teaching which is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, the doctrine which is in accordance with true religion, is simply ignorant and must be full of self-conceit – with a craze for questioning everything and arguing about words. All that can come of this is jealousy, contention, abuse and wicked mistrust of one another; and unending disputes by people who are neither rational nor informed and imagine that religion is a way of making a profit. Religion, of course, does bring large profits, but only to those who are content with what they have. We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that.”

This is where we have to honestly ask ourselves: are we a church only for the money? Sometimes we may discover that the church we go to could be only for the money, if the rich, influential and wealthy are well treated, but the poor, the marginalised, those who are not so well-off or even those who are struggling to make ends meet are given little or minimal attention. If the church we go to is treating people differently according to dollars and cents, then perhaps we should seriously consider whether that church is really a church of Jesus Christ at all.

Thursday of Week 24 Year 1

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As clergy, religious and lay persons who hold teaching positions in church, we hold a great responsibility. When we teach, we are teaching what the church teaches, not what we think and not our opinion. Sometimes we come across people who begin to divert from what the church teaches because they value what they think more than what is taught by the church for centuries. When we have this kind of attitude, we could be responsible for causing schism, where people begin to break away from the church to form their own, because they think their opinion is the correct one and all others are wrong.

That is why, St. Paul in today’s reading cautions us: “Take great care about what you do and what you teach; always do this, and in this way you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.” Having an opinion about something is fine, it is not wrong. But it becomes a problem when that opinion you have begins to cloud your mind and causes you to become convinced that the opinion is truth, even though it is merely your opinion and has not been verified and accepted by the church. Thus, let us be responsible in what we teach, and teach the truth, for no servant can be greater than the Master. If we teach our own stuff, are we trying to usurp our role and become the master instead?

Wednesday of Week 24 Year 1

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Every now and then, we come across people who are habitual liars. Such people cannot seem to speak the truth or say it as it is, due to some reason or another. People lie for many different reasons, among them include: to protect one’s skin, to safe face, to avoid work or certain tasks assigned to them, to gain some advantage in life, the list can go on. But no matter how hard we try to avoid the truth, the truth will one day surface. There is saying: “tell the truth and shame the devil,” and that saying should be taken to heart, since it is better to stay truthful than to live with lies and be constantly fearful, nervous and insecure.

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “I wanted you to know how people ought to behave in God’s family – that is, in the Church of the living God, which upholds the truth and keeps it safe.” When we live on the side of truth, we have no reason to fear or be high strung, since there is nothing for others to use as ammunition to blame us. The truth may hurt, but isn’t better for the hurt to be felt upfront, instead of the possibility of the hurt being felt for all eternity?

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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As children, many of us may have attended Religious Education each Sunday. For some of us, such classes are called Catechism classes or Sunday school. During such classes, we would have learnt so many things about God, about Jesus, about the ten commandments, the list goes on. But the problem is: is this what faith is all about? Is our faith confined only to memorising our catechism? Some of us may have gone through rote learning in school, where we had to memorise things and regurgitate such facts in order to pass exams. But what benefit did we eventually gain from such methods of learning? Do we understand what we have learnt and are we able to apply such facts in daily life? In the same way, do we understand what we have learnt at Catechism classes, and are we able to apply what we have learnt in daily life?

The fact is: faith is more than just memorising facts, as the readings today tell us. Faith is more than merely reciting the creed; more than learning our catechism; more than just knowing about God and Jesus. It is pointless for us to just have the kind of faith where we have head-level knowledge about something or someone, where we merely have facts and information about that thing or person. Instead, our faith should be about knowing someone, whereby we have a special and intimate relationship with that person.

In today’s gospel, Peter recognises Jesus as the Christ, the Anointed One of God. However, this recognition is only head knowledge. Peter knew about Jesus but didn’t know him as a person. Jesus, therefore, explains who he really is and what his mission entails. Jesus tells Peter that He must suffer grievously, be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, put to death, and after three days He will rise again. But this is the part which Peter could not understand. Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ but could not accept the fact this Christ must suffer and die. To help Peter, Jesus further explains that for one to become His disciple, that person must be prepared to renounce himself, take up his cross and follow the same fate of Jesus. This means that the disciple must have an intimate relationship with Jesus and not only be satisfied with knowing about Jesus.

That is why our faith would be meaningless if it stays only within head-knowledge. Our faith calls for conversion, commitment and action. St. James in the second reading challenges us to show our faith through our good deeds. It is not enough to just say that we have faith, but we must prove our faith through the lives we live, by our readiness to accept the cross of Jesus and follow him. We must be prepared to lose everything, even our lives knowing that “anyone who loses his life for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

Let us therefore honestly examine our faith. Is our faith merely head-knowledge? Is our faith only a safe kind of faith that tries to avoid trouble or the cross? If we call ourselves Christians, then we should be doing what Christ did. We should renounce ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus, since He is the way to eternal life and glory.

Friday of Week 24 Year 2

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Some people live lives as if this life is all that matters. They try to accumulate titles, wealth, fame, and recognition, with the intention of winning admiration and respect from others. However, what these people have accumulated seems not enough, and they work even harder and try harder to gain more and more of such things. Some people may think that after this life is over and done with, that is it: we are finished, we are history. But is this what we Christians believe?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us that we Christians believe in the resurrection. He says: “Now if Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself cannot have been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless; indeed, we are shown up as witnesses who have committed perjury before God, because we swore in evidence before God that he had raised Christ to life.”

It seems as if there are some Christians who may have begun to doubt the resurrection of the dead. Even today, there are Christians who may have doubted this important teaching. However, we should note that if we doubt the resurrection of the dead, then we could be drifting away from our Christian belief. After all, we say that we believe in the resurrection of the dead, when we recite the Apostles Creed or even the Nicene Creed. Are we holding fast to our belief and trusting in God?

Thursday of Week 24 Year 2

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What sort of attitude do we have towards others? Are we compassionate, loving, forgiving and caring? Or are we self-righteous, thinking that only we are ok and others are not ok? Do we treat people equally, or have we allowed pride and prejudice to creep into our attitude and behaviour towards others? Sometimes we come across discrimination, double-standards, or unfairness towards certain groups. Are we guilty in committing these in one way or another too?

In today’s Gospel, we see two contrasting figures: Simon the Pharisee and the woman with a bad name. Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to a meal, and yet his hospitality towards Jesus was minimal. The woman, on the other hand, “waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she covered his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment.” Here we see the judgemental attitude the Pharisee had towards the woman, and to a certain extend, towards Jesus. The woman, on the other hand, sought forgiveness and mercy, perhaps wanting to change or turn over a new leaf. Yet, Jesus showed care and mercy towards the woman, by saying: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

God is ever merciful and loving to all of us. He gives us plenty of opportunities to change for the better, forgiving us for the many wrongdoings we may have committed, just as the woman had been forgiven. Are we too not bound to be just as merciful, compassionate and loving towards others?

Wednesday of Week 24 Year 2

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There are times in life where we say things without thinking, only to regret what we said later. There are times where we say something just to make another person happy or to get the other person off our back, but we do not mean what we say. There are also times where we say something, perhaps intending to honour what we have said, but due to pressures and other distractions in life, we may have forgotten what we had said. What about you? Are you being honest with your words? Some people say that they have uttered white lies, perhaps to get out of a sticky or undesirable situation, but a lie is still a lie, regardless of what colour it is.

The same scenario can be applied to when we use the word “love.” Do we really understand what “love” is? Sometimes we say we “love,” but we actually mean we “like.” In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us that: “Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes… In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.”

Seeing the many attributes and characteristics of “love,” do we really mean what we say when we say we love God? In the same way, do we really love others, just as God loves us? It is easy to misuse and abuse the word “love,” but it is certainly not so simple to really love God and people. Does this mean that we can never love properly and truly? We are not perfect, we make mistakes, but if we do our best and continue to trust in God’s help and providence, surely we will slowly be able to love meaningfully, truthfully and consistently.

Tuesday of Week 24 Year 2

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Each and every one of us has got a purpose and role as a Christian. We are not the same, and we do not have the same responsibilities. Some of us may feel that we should be given more significant duties. But the question is: are we Christians after status and recognition? Or are we Christians with a mission, in different ways and capacities perhaps, but with one common goal, that is to proclaim the Good News?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink. Nor is the body to be identified with any one of its many parts. Now you together are Christ’s body; but each of you is a different part of it.” We may have different duties, responsibilities, or functions, but we are still brothers and sisters in Christ. We should do our duty with joy, enthusiasm and vigour, instead of trying to compare with others and feeling upset that we are not being given something better. After all, are we serving God, or are we serving ourselves? Be happy and committed in doing your part in building the Kingdom of God.