Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 6th

Friday of Week 6 Year 1

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to win the whole world and ruin his life? And indeed what can a man offer in exchange for his life? For if anyone in this adulterous and sinful generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

From the Gospel, we can see a few key qualities of being a follower of Jesus:

  1. If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. Here, a follower of Jesus chooses to renounce himself, takes up his cross, and follows Jesus. It is not enough to just renounce oneself, but one also needs to take up his cross and follow Jesus.
  2. But anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. Here, a follower of Jesus not only chooses to lose his life for Jesus’ sake, He or she also chooses to do so for the sake of the gospel. Both Jesus and the gospel must be involved.
  3. For if anyone in this adulterous and sinful generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Here, one must be willing to stand up for Jesus and His words. If one is ashamed of Jesus’ words, especially those words which may seem difficult to understand or accept, then how can one stand up for Jesus?

So as we can see, being a follower of Jesus is not so simple. Anyone can claim to be a follower of Jesus, but claiming to be a follower of Jesus means nothing if there is no action or personal sacrifice. May we strive towards being true and genuine in following Jesus completely, and give glory to God in all we say and do.

Saturday of Week 6 Year 1

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In today’s Gospel, Peter, James and John experienced the presence of God when they saw Jesus transfigured. They had never experienced their master in this way before. In the Gospel: “Then Peter spoke to Jesus: ‘Rabbi,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ But things did not quite work out that way. They were only being prepared for what is to come. With Jesus they descended the mountain to the valley below and on to the garden of Gethsemane and Calvary. On the mountain, they didn’t want to leave. In the Garden of Gethsemane, they didn’t want to stay. When Jesus was arrested they all fled in fear.

We can all identify with the apostles because in our mountain-top experiences of joy and consolation we also want to stay. We want the experience to go on forever. And then in the moments of trial we want to flee. We forget that our Lord did not promise us a rose garden, but a garden of olives and a crown of thorns. We also forget that we need to face reality and go forth to proclaim the Good News, not just remain up in the mountain. The question we need to ask ourselves is: Are we still clinging on to the mountain top? Or are we willing to pick up our cross and leave to face the trials of the day.

Saturday of Week 6 Year 2

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One of the challenges that some of us face is to control our tongue and know when to speak and when to keep quiet. When we see someone doing something which we perceive to be wrong, we have the strong urge to talk to another person about it (in other words, to gossip with someone else), or swiftly condemn the person with so called righteous indignation. However, how many of us are willing to take the trouble to check the facts carefully, and if really found to be true beyond reasonable doubt, are willing to approach the person to address the issue? Or do we conveniently lash out or condemn the person, thinking that we are right in doing so?

In today’s reading, St. Paul cautions us: “So is the tongue only a tiny part of the body, but it can proudly claim that it does great things. Think how small a flame can set fire to a huge forest; the tongue is a flame like that. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a whole wicked world in itself: it infects the whole body; catching fire itself from hell, it sets fire to the whole wheel of creation. Wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish can all be tamed by man, and often are; but nobody can tame the tongue – it is a pest that will not keep still, full of deadly poison. We use it to bless the Lord and Father, but we also use it to curse men who are made in God’s image: the blessing and the curse come out of the same mouth. My brothers, this must be wrong.”

From the reading, we can clearly see that the tongue may be tiny, but it can cause a lot of damage to oneself and to others, if we do not learn to control it properly and speak only when and where necessary. May we strive towards keeping our tongue under continuous check, so that we may use it properly and correctly to build ourselves and others, and give God the glory.

Friday of Week 6 Year 2

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It is easy for us to give a lot of comments and suggestions for improvement or changes in church. But sometimes, such comments and suggestions are just that: merely comments and suggestions, without any commitment to take action or to offer oneself to see such comments and suggestions through. For example, some people like to comment or suggest that churches these days should have a funeral parlour, since more and more people these days live in flats, apartments or condominiums, where facilities for a wake may not be available. But when such persons are asked to form a committee and help raise funds, so that a funeral parlour could be constructed somewhere in the church grounds, such persons suddenly give all sorts of excuses, or back down from their suggestions. Are some of us all talk and no action?

In today’s reading, we are told that “Faith is like that: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead.” Also, the reading tells us that “A body dies when it is separated from the spirit, and in the same way faith is dead if it is separated from good deeds.” We say that we have faith; we believe in God; we recite the creed every Sunday; we call ourselves Christians; but is our faith merely words? Is our faith all talk but no or little action? Are we willing to do something about what we say, or are we merely blowing hot air?

Thursday of Week 6 Year 2

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How do we treat others in church? Do we treat all as equal, as brothers and sisters in Christ; or do we treat others according to the way they dress, or their appearance, or according to the their status or rank in society? In some churches, I have noticed that when a person is well dressed or has got a title or something, some treat such a person like a VIP. But when a beggar or shabbily dressed person comes to church, some may begin to form all sorts of thoughts and assume all sorts of scenarios, whether good or bad.

Today’s reading warns us: “Can’t you see that you have used two different standards in your mind, and turned yourselves into judges, and corrupt judges at that?” Today’s reading also tells us that “the right thing to do is to keep the supreme law of scripture: you must love your neighbour as yourself; but as soon as you make distinctions between classes of people, you are committing sin, and under condemnation for breaking the Law.”

The question we need to ask ourselves is this: Are we segregating and treating people differently in church? Are we not all brothers and sisters in Christ, regardless of how we look or who we are? If we are continuing to treat people in such a manner, how different are we compared to the world? Are we followers of Christ, or have we allowed the ways of the world to corrupt us?

Wednesday of Week 6 Year 2

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When we say something, are we saying things based on our perception, feelings or emotions, without verifying the facts? Are we aware of what we are saying, or are we blindly saying things? Do we realise that words, once said, cannot be taken back?

In today’s reading, we are cautioned to “be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to rouse your temper; God’s righteousness is never served by man’s anger.” God gave us two ears and one tongue, possibly to remind us that we should listen carefully and speak only when necessary. since sometimes we end up saying more than we should. Sometimes we say faster than we think, and that could only make us look foolish at the end. May we use words with caution, and use words for the glory of God.

Saturday of the 6th Week of Easter

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What is our priority in life? Some of us think that our priority is our career or job, and we spend hours building it or climbing the corporate ladder. Some of us think that our priority is our peace of mind and happiness, and we find ways and means to maintain such peace and happiness. Some of us think that our priority is our family and loved ones, and we making every effort to find the time to spend quality time with them. But as Christians, what is our real priority?

In the four Gospels, we read of several times where Jesus assures us: “Ask and you will receive.” But today’s Gospel not only tells us: “Ask and you will receive,” but also “and so that your joy will be complete.” What is this joy that Jesus assures us about? Many a times, we think that our joy would be complete when our wants and needs are fulfilled. But perhaps one way of looking at the word “Joy” is when we prioritise our lives by putting our lives according to this order: J for Jesus, O for others, then only Y for you. When we prioritise our lives in that order – Jesus, others, you – then we will indeed find true meaning and joy in our lives, and then we would find our lives complete.

Saturday of the 6th Week of Easter

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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.

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

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Some people think that for a person to be joyful, the person should also be happy. But if we look carefully at what joy and happiness really mean, we would discover that one could be joyful, even when one is poor, hungry, down and out, when one is mourning for the loss of loved one, when one is facing persecution and experiencing suffering. How is it possible for a person to be joyful even when experiencing such difficult situations and circumstances?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus exclaims: happy are you… blessed are you… rejoice… be joyful. What sort of joy does Jesus speak of? Is joy something that you get when your needs and wants are fulfilled? Society tries to keep sadness and happiness separated. Consequently, we try to forget about death, illness, our family problems because they seem to keep us from the happiness we hope for. Yet, Jesus shows in his teachings and in his life, that true joy is hidden in the midst of our sorrow. The cross has become a powerful symbol of this reality; it is a symbol of death and of life, of suffering and of joy, of defeat and of victory. In the cross, both joy and sorrow can co-exist. Of course, this is not easy to understand, but when we think about some of our life experiences, such as being present at the birth of a child or the death of a friend, great sorrow and great joy can be seen as parts of the same experience, where we discover joy in the midst of the sorrow.

So what does this mean? It means that true joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from knowing of God’s love for us. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing; not even death; can take that love away. To be happy, as the responsorial psalm tells us, is to “trust in the Lord.” In our spiritual life, joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God, and have found in God our refuge our safety, and our strength, and that nothing can take God away from us. Let us remain joyful always, no matter how difficult or challenging it may be, as God is with us.

Saturday of Week 6 Year 1

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There are things and situations in this world which we experience through our senses. However, there are also things and situations in this world which we cannot see or understand, since such things and situations often are beyond our control or comprehension. When we are faced with such things or situations, what do we do? Some of us may try to live in denial, but the reality is that such things and situations would not go away or be forgotten so easily. So what then should we do? When we are faced with things and situations beyond our control or comprehension, we should then have faith.

Faith is believing in what cannot be seen and hoping in what cannot be fully explained. Today’s reading tells us about faith from the beginning of the reading till its end. It talks about the faith of Biblical characters like Abel, Enoch and Noah. By their faith they came to know who God is, and by their faith they experienced His presence, and it was by their faith they did God’s will. These prophets depended in faith in all they said and did, even though they faced things and situations beyond their control or comprehension.

What about us? Are we willing to have faith in God, just as the prophets in today’s reading had, come what may? Let us not doubt any longer or be hesitant in doing God’s will, but have faith in His providence and care, and give Him the greater glory.